### I Thought I Was Over Adidas Sambas and Then Harry Styles Wore Them Again
Harry Styles was recently photographed in Rome, casually dressed in a shrunken, striped T-shirt, straight-leg jeans, and a pair of Adidas Sambas. This sighting reignited a trend that many thought had peaked. Styles, known for his flamboyant fashion choices, including feather boas and flared suits, opted for a more understated look this time, which included the now-ubiquitous Adidas Sambas. This choice of footwear has once again thrust the classic sneaker into the spotlight, proving its enduring appeal.
The Adidas Samba, originally designed as a soccer shoe, has seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few years. Its simple design and versatility have made it a favorite among fashion enthusiasts and celebrities alike. The sneaker’s recent popularity can be attributed to its frequent appearances on the feet of style icons like Harry Styles, Bella Hadid, and Kendall Jenner. These celebrities have helped to cement the Samba’s status as a must-have item in any fashion-forward wardrobe.
The persistence of the Samba trend is perplexing to some. Despite its long history, the sneaker continues to captivate new generations of wearers. This ongoing popularity has led to a shortage of the shoe, with the $100 black OG Sambas and their vegan counterparts reportedly sold out on the Adidas website earlier this year. The sneaker’s appeal is further evidenced by the hundreds of millions of TikTok views under the hashtag #adidassamba and a Samba-only pop-up event in Shanghai this spring.
Adidas has recognized the enduring appeal of the Samba and plans to capitalize on it. CEO Bjørn Gulden declared on a March earnings call that the Samba was the “hottest shoe on the market” and that the company intends to sell “millions and millions” of pairs by “heating up” the sneaker franchise quarter over quarter. This strategy is part of Adidas’s efforts to fill a $2 billion hole left by the end of its partnership with Yeezy.
However, as the hype around the Samba continues to grow, some early adopters and long-time fans of the sneaker are beginning to feel a sense of fatigue. The trend has become so widespread that it is now difficult to wear Sambas without feeling like part of a fashion conveyor belt. This sentiment was echoed by Susan Korn, the vegan Samba enthusiast behind the cult New York handbag brand Susan Alexandra, who described her attendance at a recent Bret Easton Ellis reading in Manhattan, where she spotted “the Adidas shoe” on many fellow attendees. For Korn, the encounter inspired a gut-level response along the lines of: “I have to make a change.”
Similarly, Brynn Wallner, a timepiece pundit and friend of Korn, admitted that while she does occasionally wear Sambas, the experience is mostly “soul crushing.” Wallner explained that wearing the sneakers can feel like you just got off the conveyor belt from the influencer factory. “It’s a cute shoe, but it got beaten to death,” she said.
The demand for the Samba has created a hectic energy, unsettling older wearers who still see it as a trusty, low-cost beater sneaker. Sneaker retailer Stadium Goods reported that their Samba sales have grown tenfold since last fall alone, with this April marking the highest number of Samba sales in the retailer’s history. The most popular models are the OG classic and vegan Sambas. Davidde Dunn-Pilz, Stadium Goods’ commercial operations manager, noted that the customers driving this phase of the trend skew towards “Gen Z” and “TikTokers”—groups that want to keep up with the trend but might not have the funds for the more expensive Samba collaborations.
Despite the trend’s potential to cool any minute now, there is still a lot of activity on the horizon. The aforementioned Wales Bonner drop, credited with resuscitating this specific Samba trend cycle, is due shortly, and sneaker sites are counting down the days. Teaser images of a cream and brown Samba with a fold-over tongue have been making the rounds. Back in March, Kith collaborated with Clarks on a crepe-sole Samba, and a second summer release boasting Clarks suede on the shoes is being teased now. More collaborations are incoming: WASP-leisure brand Sporty & Rich plans to unveil a second capsule of pastel-motif Sambas in the coming weeks. Pharrell’s Humanrace just dropped an Ecco-leather Samba in a range of bright monochromes.
The desperation of dropping significant amounts of money on a middle-school beater shoe has created something of an existential crisis for the everyman Samba wearer. The sneaker’s popularity has led to obscene resale prices, with Wales Bonner Sambas routinely fetching over $600 a pair on StockX, a sneaker resale site. The TikTok fashion influencer Audrey Peters, in a not-so-cool flex, posted a video showing off two pairs of green Sporty & Rich Sambas that cost her $500 a pair. One commenter on a Reddit thread bashing Peters’ purchase spelled out the anxiety in full: “I hate the fact that Gen Z claims the Samba trend. I wore and was obsessed with them back in 2003, when the classic (the best ones IMO) cost $60.”
In conclusion, the Adidas Samba’s resurgence, fueled by celebrities like Harry Styles, has created a complex and multifaceted trend. While the sneaker’s popularity shows no signs of waning, it has also sparked a sense of fatigue and existential crisis among its long-time fans. As the trend continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how the Samba will navigate its way through the ever-changing landscape of fashion.
Source: Vogue, GQ, Stadium Goods
