When he started licensing toys for the characters and vehicles in the Star Wars universe, I don't think George Lucas really knew what he was starting. But I think some of the more recent Star Wars merchandising has shown that cross-licensing can be done well. I'm a big fan of the Star Wars lego toys, and the spin off computer games were great fun. (Although it's strange to think of a licensed computer game from a licensed toy from the films...)

But this latest range of Star Wars stuff from Adidas is something else. It would be pretty easy to just stick a Star Wars logo or Darth Maul's face on a cheap pair of trainers and expect them to sell to the kind of people who like the idea, but it looks like the Adidas designers have really given a bit of thought to what they were doing. They do have logos, but they are fairly subtle. Instead, they seem to have focussed on trying to catch the feel of Star Wars.

(Click the images to see a larger version.)

I think the X-Wing trainers are my favourites; although they do have "X-Wing" written on the side, it's the texturing that makes me think "Star Wars."

The Falcon ones are kind of similar;

The Skywalker ones are quite clever, matching not just the colours, but the general look of Luke's pilot uniform in the original film.

Maybe not quite as subtle, but the Stormtrooper trainers have also worked in the iconic look of the Stormtrooper helmet into the back of the shoes, along with the clean white texture and the chunkiness of the Adidas stripes.

And of course, Darth Vader makes an appearance, with the different textures of his outfit reproduced in a pair of black trainers.

The only problem is that I can't figure out whether they are for kids or grown ups, so I don't know whether to expect to be able to find a pair in size 11...

You can see the full collection over at StarWars.com. Check out the rest of the shoes there.