Adidas has announced a delay for the release of Bad Bunny's debut slide, leaving fans disappointed. Originally teased for a Summer 2026 launch at the Bad Bunny x Adidas Archive event in Puerto Rico, the Bad Bo Stone Slide has now been pushed back to Spring/Summer 2027. The brand's 'cave-inspired' backstory has also come under scrutiny from fans online, who are questioning the decision.
Though the delay might have seemed minor, it reignited a lively discussion that Adidas has been navigating since Kanye West's departure, with sneakerheads flatly refusing to buy the cave story.
One commenter dismissed the geography talk as a cover, joking it was still just a piece of foam like the YZY. Another said Adidas had simply put stripes on the Yeezy Slide and slapped Bad Bunny's name stripes moulded in.
The Irony of Adidas Owning the Mould
When Adidas severed ties with Ye in 2022, the company retained the design rights to most Yeezy silhouettes, which adds a legal complication to the situation.The only exception on record is the Yeezy Slide, which Ye patented separately through his holding company.
While Adidas claims that the Bad Bo's cave-textured stripes and eroded branding distinguish it from the original, fans accuse the brand of trying to create a product that captures the essence of a mould it cannot legally use. They believe that Adidas is relying on a new global star to make the design feel unrelated to the original.
A Shaky Follow-up to a Hot Streak
There is some criticism of Bad Bunny's Adidas collaboration, which is unusual. Most of his sneaker releases have been successful, including the Forum Buckle Low and the Gazelle and Campus sneakers, which sold out quickly. His main sneaker design, the BadBo 1.0, has also done well.
The Stone Slide is the first Bad Bunny project to get this level of online scepticism before it has even released, suggesting fans separate footwear built from scratch from footwear that echoes something they have already seen Adidas do with Ye.
Foam Fatigue Is Setting In
Slides have become one of the most saturated areas of sneaker culture, and this context is important to consider. With the introduction of the original Yeezy Slide, a surge of lookalikes followed, along with Adidas' own Adilette line. As a result, buyers have had years to become accustomed to moulded foam slip-ons from various brands.
The Bad Bo enters a market where the novelty of a celebrity-backed slide has diminished since the Yeezy Slide's peak, increasing the importance of the design being distinct.
Bad Bunny X Adidas Slides 🐰 pic.twitter.com/oT065AhMRj
— Bad Bunny HQ (@BBPRTV) July 14, 2025
What Happens When the Slides Actually Drop
Adidas has confirmed four colourways so far. Blue and yellow arrive 1 March, with beige and brown following 1 July, all priced at $70. Neither Bad Bunny nor his team has addressed the copycat criticism directly, leaving Adidas to field the comparisons alone.
None of the mockery is likely to prevent these items from selling out. Foam slides associated with major names tend to sell well, regardless of the opinions in the comment section. At a price of $70, the cost is low enough that curiosity alone should drive demand in the first week.
The bigger question is whether Adidas can make the Bad Bunny slide feel like its own unique silhouette by the time a second release arrives, or if Bad Bunny's name will continue to be used on a style that people already associate with someone else.
