Remarkable Rise of ugly cool: Retro sneakers are ruling the street and gym

One of the remarkable things about retro sneakers is how grossly unappealing they may seem to the average shoe wearer

An enduring myth about Fila, the Italian sportswear company, is that its name is an acronym for “Finally I Left Adidas”, coined by a disgruntled former Adidas employee who thought himself competent to start a rival outfit. But, fascinating as this alleged back story may be, it is entirely apocryphal. Fila was, in fact, founded by one Giansevero Fila in the northern Italian town of Biella in 1911, some 38 years before Adolf “Adi” Dassler decided to change the name of his shoe company to Adidas. And since we’re on about backronyms, do note that Adidas is not short for