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The Adidas Samba is having a major moment. Before TikTok, the Samba was the go-to indoor soccer shoe. First introduced in 1950, the soccer-inspired style was created to help players master the game on all surfaces. Now, the sneaker isn’t just for sport.
Fashion influencers and celebrities have turned the heritage look into one of the must-have, trendy items of the year. Depop, the peer-to-peer social e-commerce company, has seen exponential growth for the Samba with searches up 1,325% year-over-year, for instance.
And on TikTok, #adidassamba has over 450 million views. Fans of the look include Karlie Kloss, Katie Holmes, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber, among others. What’s more, the Samba is being worn in unexpected ways — such as with mini dresses, long skirts and suiting — as fashion fans continue to adopt another TikTok trend, the “wrong shoe theory.”
Laced, an online marketplace, found that sales aren’t subsiding as demand continues to grow. Last year, the company said its platform went from not selling a single pair of the Adidas Samba during the first seven months of 2022, to selling hundreds during the same period in 2023. There’s been a 2,638% uptick in sales, Laced said.
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While the Samba comes in the classic white and black for $100, more iterations are now hitting shelves. Earlier this month, Adidas introduced its Humanrace Samba Tones by Pharrell, featuring three new colorways: Terracotta, Charcoal, and White. Kith also took the opportunity to make its mark on the Samba in partnership with Adidas to present the Samba Golf. The shoes are made for on-and-off the course as its designed with spikeless rubber outsole and is offered in classic white and tint white colorways.
Other hit collabs with the shoe this year have included the Ajax x Adidas Samba “Cream,” which was released in March and quickly sold out, as well as The Fucking Awesome x Adidas Samba collab in black leather.
