German Trainer, the German military sneaker, is now a fashion item by Margiela? Its history and examples of men’s coordination are introduced!

The German trainer, with its slender, sharp shape, simple design, and unique suede transition, is a masterpiece of military training shoes that can easily fit in with any outfit. Even today, they are widely recognized as Maison Margiela’s signature piece REPLICA, Dior Homme’s B01, and Enderschema’s Manual Industrial Products 05. In this issue, we focus on the ” German trainer ” and introduce its design features, its interesting history, snaps for reference and recommended items!

What is a German Trainer?

Developed by Adolph Dassler (founder of adidas) of “Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory: Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory” during the 1936 Berlin Olympics for American track and field athlete Jesse Owens Based on a running spike shoe, the German Trainer was mass-produced as a federal defense sports shoe for the West German Army in the 1970s. The spikes used in the original were replaced by a rubber gum sole for traction, and the supple all-leather body was retained, with gray and off-white suede detailing layered on the toe box. In addition, the outsole has a unique pattern of circles and grids, very different from those found on other training shoes and sneakers. The German Trainer is a common name in Japan, but overseas it is usually known as the GERMAN ARMY TRAINER, or GTA for its initials.

Maison Margiela’s German Trainer ” REPLICA

About the history of the German Trainer

The original German Army trainers were called BW Sport in the 1970s, and BW stands for the German word “bundes wehr,” meaning “bundes wehr sports chuhe (Federal Defense Sports Shoe (Federal Defense Sports Shoe). The prototype of this sneaker is undoubtedly the spike shoe developed by Adolf Dassler for Jesse Owens, but the BW Sport, which was actually manufactured for the 500,000 soldiers of the Wehrmacht, was either the Dassler brothers’ brother Adolf’s founding company, “Adidas,” It is not certain whether the BW Sport, which was manufactured for 500,000 soldiers of the Wehrmacht, was made by Adidas, founded by Adolf Dassler’s brother, or by Puma, founded by his brother, Rudolph. (Image: Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics)

Furthermore, the Adidas side claims the original running spike shoes for Jesse Owens, the original design base, as they were developed by his brother Adolf, a craftsman by trade, while the Puma side, founded by his brother Rudolf, a man of business acumen, has a report in the German Bundeswehr Military History Museum that states that the shoes were made by Puma. On the other hand, Puma, founded by his business-minded brother Rudolf, claims that the German Bundeswehr Military History Museum has records showing that Puma was the creator of the GTA. Both Adidas and Puma have not budged from their position, and the dispute remains unresolved to this day.

Margiela sublimated the German Trainer into a fashion item

The BW Sport was delivered to the German Wehrmacht from the 1970s to the 1980s, but when the Wehrmacht downsized following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a large amount of surplus stock was sold to the civilian market as disposed goods. Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela had a fateful encounter with these German trainers during his stay in Austria in the 1990s, and it is said that he fell in love with their stylish design at first sight and immediately purchased several dozen pairs. Margiela then took an anti-modal approach, remaking the German trainers entirely by hand, and presented them in his own collections. A few years later, he released the “REPLICA,” a reproduction of the GTA, which became an iconic piece of the Maison, and the German Trainer quickly gained status as a fashionable military sneaker. Incidentally, Margiela’s REPLICA is equipped with elastic bands on both sides of the shoe tongue and can be worn as a slip-on without laces. From the early days of Maison Martin Margiela to the current Maison Margiela, many German trainers have been developed, including models that faithfully reproduce the originals and those that have been remade using artisanal techniques. The freehand graffiti models released in the 1990s are especially coveted and rare items.

The current paint model of REPLICA

Since the 2000s, other brands have also been releasing German trainers, and the B01 by Dior Homme is one of the most popular. In particular, Dior Homme’s B01 and Enderschema’s Manual Industrial Products 05 have elevated the German trainer to the status of a fashion item through their modal interpretations.

SAMBA by Adidas