When you think of legendary adidas sneakers, one of the following probably comes to mind: the Stan Smith, the Superstar, or the Samba. Each model is iconic in its own right, but when it comes to leaving a permanent mark on UK style, there's really only one that needs to be mentioned, and that's the Samba.
Today, it's estimated that the Samba has sold as many as 35 million pairs since its debut 65 years ago, according to Adweek. Earlier this year, Four Pins and Complex writer Sam Diss even went as far as to call the Samba "Europe's Air Jordan." And whether you agree or disagree with that statement, it's hard to deny the sneaker's staying power.
Popularized by working-class soccer hooligans known as "casuals," the Samba's rise to popularity — and UK legend — began in the early '80s. As Adweek puts it, it's the Samba's ability to "belong to everyone and no one" that gives it its easily adoptable everyman vibe.
"You could think of the Chuck Taylor, Jack Purcell, the Stan Smith in this guise. Yeah sure, sometimes someone wants to play about with them and reflavor them as the mood takes," Neal Heard, author of Trainers, said. "But it's just a dalliance, a fad, while the classic shoe stays there and runs on its own way. The adidas Samba is one of those shoes."
