adidas Samba

Samba

Adolf Dassler first designed a football boot for use in icy conditions in the late 1940s. After successfully trialling it on a local football team, he released his revolutionary shoe under the name Samba – a moniker that referenced both the lively Brazilian style of dance and the 1950 World Cup, which was due to be held in the South American nation.

Being associated with the global tournament gave the adidas Samba a strong initial boost, allowing Dassler to grow his company. He developed his knowledge of shoe design, and refined the Samba, giving it a lower, sleeker profile, better cushioning and a more effective outsole. The improved traction and lightweight build of the 1970’s version made the silhouette ideal for the increasingly popular indoor sport of futsal. No other company produced such an effective indoor shoe until the 1990s, by which time the Samba had become a beloved lifestyle sneaker.

Its transition from sport to fashion came through the football fans of the United Kingdom who followed their teams across Europe in the 1980s. On their travels, they came across foreign brands like adidas, which they took to wearing when back at home. In the 1990s, this connection saw the Samba adopted by Britpop stars like Oasis, who brought the shoe to a wider audience, while in the United States, it was popularised by hip hop artists and skaters.

After a quiet period, the Samba returned as a key silhouette in adidas’ Originals range, which was created to honour its heritage models. The brand paid particular attention to its oldest sneaker in 2014, when the World Cup returned to Brazil, and it started to make a comeback. As more colourways were added to the collection, the Samba was more broadly adopted, even by celebrities like American singer Frank Ocean.

In 2020, the Samba’s captivating retro appeal saw it chosen by Grace Wales Bonner for her luxury fashion brand’s collaboration with adidas. In the years that followed, they created a series of distinctive colourways that were immensely popular, making the Samba highly sought-after.

When the ‘blokecore’ movement emerged in 2022, the silhouette’s sporting heritage made it an essential piece of clothing for the global trend, and its social media presence boomed. Eventually, it was picked up by well-known influencers like Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber as the decades-old silhouette became one of the most talked about sneakers in the world of fashion.

Although the adidas Samba is over 70 years old, it remains one of the brand’s most widely appreciated silhouettes. If anything, its popularity has only increased in recent years, thus proving its remarkable ability to adapt to the times. As its incredible longevity continues, the Samba keeps reinventing itself without ever losing its strong sense of style and vintage sporting appeal.