Bronx streetwear store, City Jeans, recently teamed up with adidas to create a limited-edition shoe that symbolizes the grit, beauty and talent of the Bronx.
The company made 800 numbered pairs of the City Jeans Gazelle shoe, which they dubbed the “Diamond in the Rough.” It features a tearaway black nylon outer layer with a tab on the back that says “Start Here,” revealing sky blue underneath. The brand’s iconic three stripes are reflective, the tongue has a prismatic hologram and the insole has an allover pattern of gems scattered amid gray stones.
“I kind of wanted to shine light on how diamonds can come from rough places,” said Eric Canals, a Bronx native and head buyer for City Jeans, who designed the shoe with his home borough in mind.
By 4:00 p.m. on launch day, Oct. 4, Canals said he sold well over 600 pairs at the celebration that drew hundreds to the City Jeans location at 306 East Fordham Rd. The event included food, a cocktail bar, a DJ and LED truck parked outside to promote the shoe.
Chief Operating Officer Ben Winrauke proudly runs City Jeans, his family’s business, where he has worked since childhood. His father came to New York in the 1980s and opened the first store at East Tremont and Crotona, gradually expanding to eight locations in the Bronx and one in Brooklyn.
Today, generations of families shop at City Jeans, and managers “are known by name” in the community, Winraukes said. Throughout decades, positive relationships with customers have kept the shop going strong. “The focus has always been about the Bronx and communities,” he added.
City Jeans carries big-name sportswear brands as well as a selection of items by local designers. Canals said these artists, unlike corporate brands, are highly tapped into what people want to buy and can adapt and deliver quickly.
“They know what we wear in the Bronx,” he said. “People [in the borough] are very proud of what they wear and how they wear it.”
Over the years, the shop has participated in several shoe collabs, including, perhaps unexpectedly, with the UGG brand, a perennial City Jeans bestseller. Through their longstanding relationship with adidas, Winrauke said he and Canals approached the company about collaborating on a shoe, “and they told us to come back with a story.”
“Diamond in the Rough” is a true Bronx story reflective of Canals’ own experience, Winrauke said.
When Canals was 17 years old, he started at City Jeans, “scraping gum off the floor in one of the stores,” he said. Later, Canals became a manager and after starting college for architecture. After deciding it wasn’t for him, he worked his way into buying meetings for City Jeans where he’s now head buyer, having devoted more than a decade of his life to the business.
The concept of a diamond in the rough is “so authentic to his story,” Winrauke said.
The path to success wasn’t automatic for Canals. He said his beloved late grandmother desperately wanted him to finish college, but he found a different way — one that still captured his passion for art and design but put it to another, unexpected use.
The shoe itself, as well as the promotional campaign, was a homage to many people in the Bronx who “made it” despite challenging circumstances, Canals said. The “Diamond in the Rough” Gazelle “means a lot to me.”
In the hype leading up to the launch, Winrauke said he received messages from people around the world, including in South America and Japan, who wanted the shoe.
The new Gazelle is an “unbelievable opportunity to put on for our borough on a global stage,” he said.
The shoe retails for $130 and is available exclusively at City Jeans stores or online at cityjeans.com.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
