Pharrell Williams and Adidas Originals are releasing two soft suede versions of the Virginia Vario Flat Earther on June 20th, arriving in black and blue suede colorways that follow the April debut of the model, which launched in white full-grain leather accented with either green or black stripes. The suede upper lends a soft, tactile finish to the shoe’s clean geometry, with a magnetic closure system replacing traditional laces for effortless on-and-off wear that reinforces the model’s philosophy of intentional, frictionless movement, while white leather stripes run along the sidewalls and a rubber outsole carries Virginia branding underfoot. The suede versions are being positioned as the more lived-in iteration of the silhouette, and given how quietly the shoe has been building its audience since April, that framing feels right.
Where It Comes From
The Flat Earther is rooted in the Adidas Yoga Vario, a Fall/Winter 2004 silhouette originally designed around the principles of yoga and mindful movement, which Pharrell pulled from the archive and reimagined into a purely lifestyle shoe, laceless, low-profile, built from full-grain leather with a leather-lined interior, an EVA insole, and a direct-injection outsole that sits minimal, supple, and close to the ground. The name stems from Williams’ desire to have the style focus on groundedness and balance while encouraging a play with perspective, which is either a very considered design philosophy or the most elaborate sneaker joke anyone has attempted at this level, and possibly both.
The Contrast That Makes It Interesting
The contrast with its predecessor, the VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish, could not be more intentional: one designed to make you feel as if you are floating with each step, the other built to keep you grounded. After the Jellyfish won Footwear News’ Shoe of the Year for 2025 and established Pharrell’s Adidas chapter as one of the most creatively ambitious collaborations in the market, moving to something this stripped-back and quiet could have read as a step backward, but the Flat Earther has held its own precisely because it argues a different point entirely, and argues it convincingly. Virginia is Williams’ creative pseudonym and cultural platform, rooted in his home state and reaching globally. The Flat Earther, in its suede form, is the version of that platform that asks you to slow down and feel the ground beneath you.
