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Reebok’s Jelly Belly sneakers are your sweetest nightmare
Nearly every color, material, and flavor you can think of has been incorporated into Reebok’s Instapump Fury and Club C legacy shoes.
Reebok is sweetening its sneakers with Jelly Belly. In an attempt to make its offerings more appetizing, the duo has reworked the Instapump Fury and Club C Legacy models, covering each shoe in a rainbow of colors and translucent details. Much like actual jelly beans, however, it’s hard to tell whether we’ll enjoy the sneakers or as Jelly Belly puts it, be “bean-boozled.”
Truthfully, both shoes look like they were designed for children — but they fit right in with Reebok’s other recent collaborations. In the past few months, the brand has partnered with Jurassic Park, Power Rangers, and even NERF to create nostalgic sneakers. Exactly who is fueling the demand for the childlike shoes is unclear.
After being kicked to the curb by Adidas, Reebok is seemingly struggling to stay afloat: Why else would it continue its stream of nonsense collaborations? Consumers are being forced to treat the brand much like a friend trying to find themselves after a breakup, supporting it even in its ugliest moments. Luckily, Reebok’s rebound from Adidas has already arrived — thanks to its $2.5 billion sale to Authentic Brands Group — meaning the brand’s funky collaborations may be upgraded soon.
As busy as a box of jelly beans — In the meantime, sneakerheads will have to sample Reebok and Jelly Belly’s candied shoes. Featuring yellow and bright red mesh, the Instapump Fury is the most colorful offering of the two, complementing its bright upper with a matching red rubberized heel bearing an orange Jelly Belly logo.
Yellow and green leather panels accent the mesh upper, while a multicolored translucent panel — spotted with green flecks to emulate a jelly bean — wraps around the top of the shoe. For even more color, blue and green decorate the sneaker’s sole unit, while red dresses the Instapump’s signature pump button.
Less vibrant but equally busy, the design of the Club C Legacy is as overwhelming as a box of jelly beans with unmarked flavors. Speckled green and brown mesh panels dress the upper, mixing in with black, brown, and purple suede overlays. A hazardous yellow and black pattern accents another panel towards the toe box, while a spotted orange design covers the eyelets and collar of the sneaker.
The mixture of materials and graphics nods to Jelly Belly’s Bean Boozled collection of flavors, with inspiration made more obvious with details like the question and exclamation marks on the heels and tongue tag branding. A translucent outsole finishes off the showy design.
Taste test — Reebok’s funky Jelly Belly collection may be its most ostentatious collaboration yet. Find out if the brands’ flavorful footwear is as sweet as it looks once it drops at select retailers on September 1. The Instapump Fury retails for €199 EUR (around $233) and the Club C Legacy costs €109 EUR (around $128), making the shoes a pricey treat. Are you willing to indulge?
