'Fit Battle: Madonna & Son in Dueling adidas x Gucci/Balenciaga
There are so many luxury collaborations these days that the well-heeled types are toying with them like so many incidental playthings. For instance, Madonna and her 16-year-old son, David Banda, dropped by Brooklyn's Barclays Center on May 29 in clashing adidas x Gucci/Balenciaga get-ups. Us mere mortals could never.
Madonna, the epitome of agelessness at 63, suited up in a full adidas x Balenciaga tracksuit, with matching sunglasses, a neck-full of flashy jewels, and her favorite Midnight Studios boombox bag, which was also her partner to a recent Central Saint Martins fashion show that she crashed with FKA Twigs.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being Madonna's most normal (but still suave) outfit and 10 being Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra, her Balencididas 'fit is lands around a 5.
Madge looks as good as ever, don't get me wrong, and special considerations are in order for anyone hobbling around Barclays in towering platform shoes, but this only looks as cool as a giant tracksuit could possibly look. Which is very cool, admittedly, but this is Madonna so we grade on a very steep curve.
Look at how she styled her Burberry x Supreme trench, for crying out loud!
Banda, meanwhile, has some massive shoes to fill, considering that his adopted mom is one of the biggest (and most stylish) pop stars to ever live, but he came out swinging in a plunging adidas x Gucci dress — a reference to the Laura Whitcomb-designed adidas dress that Madonna herself wore to the Sleepless In Seattle premiere.
Points off, though, for not also rocking one of the dual-brimmed hats.
Banda's sporty one-piece does complement his equally slick sneakers, hence the adidas x Balenciaga Speed Trainers below.
I could go either way on the DIY handbag, tbh, which is scribbled with phrases like "HUMAN RIGHTS" and "MADAME X," a reference to Madonna's 2019 album of the same name.
But I give both Madonna and Banda big ups for going all the way with full looks from both high-end collabs, rather than simply mixing a big boot in with what they normally wear otherwise.
So, who wins this battle of high-contrast, high-price adidas collabs? Conceivably, Madonna ought sweep any incidental style competition but I gotta give it to her son here — I genuinely love a baggy tracksuit moment but Banda's sultry sports dress takes the cake.
Perhaps if Madge had upped the collab clash (adidas x Gucci golf bag? Bucket hat?), the scales might've been tipped.
But, either way, it's at least a bit of a win for the Material Girl. After all, who do you think taught Banda everything he knows?
