Stella McCartney has championed sustainability since way before it was cool to care, steadfastly adhering to the ethos that “the company is responsible for the resources it uses and the impact it has on the environment.” Launching in stores this week (in celebration of the designer’s birthday) is the newest addition to the Stella stable of ethical footwear and we predict a stampede. Introducing Stella #stansmith.

The collaboration feels like a natural progression for McCartney, who has been working with adidas for many years on her adidas By Stella McCartney sports line, which is now in its 13th year. Several years ago, the British designer and lifelong vegetarian was gifted a special pair of sneakers crafted from faux leather, which sparked the idea for the sustainable Stan Smith design.

The minimalist white Stan Smith trainer is so-called after former world No. 1 American tennis champion Stanley Roger Smith, who ruled the courts from the end of the 1960s until the beginning of the 1980s. Adidas approached him to endorse the now-famous sneaker in 1973.

The tennis shoe’s parlay into the fashion world can be almost solely credited to Phoebe Philo, who stepped out in a pair of crisp white Stan Smith shoes on the Céline catwalk in 2010. Raf Simons and Pharrell have both since partnered with adidas to create limited-edition sneakers while Gisele famously wore nothing but a pair of Stan Smiths and tennis socks for Vogue Paris in 2013.

In homage to the legendary player, Stan Smith’s face remains printed on the tongue of the right shoe, and Stella’s portrait and signature adorn the left. The usual adidas three stripes are replaced by Stella stars, stamped down the side of the sneaker. The designer’s logo alongside the recognisable burgundy and blue stripe bands are found at the heel. Says Stella: “We’ve been collaborating with adidas for so many years, and this is the next chapter in that collaboration. Creating a vegan leather Stan Smith brings a modern twist to an iconic design.”

Customers can receive 10% off a pair of Stella #StanSmith sneakers at the Old Bond Street boutique by bringing in a pair of pre-loved adidas Stan Smiths for recycling.