Samba’s were originally created for footballers in 1949, this was because most soccer boots lacked grip. This was one of the first shoes to be created with a gum sole, for more traction. This was supposed to allow footballers to play on icy grounds. The samba’s were however realised around the 1950s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which took place in peak summer. It would be the perfect time to release Samba’s, because it would be heavely promoted. This is also how they got the name ‘ samba’ after the Brazilian dance and music genre.
It however doesn’t owe it’s fame to soccer. It started to become a real hype after terrace culture rose in the 70’s in the UK. Britisch soccer fans, quickly started to like the look of the samba’s amongst the so-called casuals also emerging in the 70’s. Which is a group of people mainly wearing adidas T-shirt, narrow jeans and suede shoes, such as the sambas. The terrace culture rose especially in Liverpool around the time Liverpool FC started reaching a European final every year from 1976 to 1978, which caused more and more people to hang out on terraces, hence the name terrace culture. Besides that their fanbase was well-travelled which is also how they were able to pick up rare sportshoes on the road.
Samba’s are among adidas’ longest-running shoe to exist and the second to the Stan Smith best-selling sneakers of all-time. It however evolved too many different styles, at first it was only used by soccer players, but later also the velosamba’s, for cycling, on which you can add a metal plate, so they can be used for cycling. Which makes much more easy to incorporate these shoes in day-to-day life as well as sports.
The shoes are high on demand now especially after the Wales Bonner collaboration in 2020. The demand rose tenfold after this. Many more collaborations followed between the adidas samba’s and other people. In 2022 the shoe made it to Lyst’s list of the hottest products of 2022. Which is a premium shopping app used by over 200 million people. They track shopping behaviour as well as social media mentions, activity and engagement statistics worldwide. Which is how they get to their quarterly ‘list of hottest things’
Besides that a lot of influencers wear the shoes as their day-to-day wear, they were seen on people as Frank Ocean, Kendall Jenner and many more, which is how they became part of the streetscene for a broader spectrum of people. Now also worn by many younger people who are part of the ongoing Y2K revolution.
