First gracing the sneaker scene back in 1949, adidas Originals’ Samba trainer never really went anywhere…but it’s making BIG waves RN.
Second only to the iconic Stan Smith, the Samba is one of adidas’ best-selling sneakers of all time – and it’s clear to see why.
Wanna’ know where it all started, and why it’s back and better than ever? Keep on scrollin’ because we’re about to fill you in…
Where Samba All Started ⬅️
Throw it back to ’49. As well as being the year the Samba first dropped, 1949 was actually the year that the adidas brand was formed aka. the start of all things 3-Stripes. Founder Adi Dassler was the brains behind the design of the Samba, which came to life at the OG adidas sports shoe factory.
Dassler gave it the classic design lines that we still see today, including a premium leather upper, a gold-tone ‘Samba’ wordmark and the now famous 3-Stripes. The silhouette was originally created for footballers, and came equipped with a grippy rubber sole that was designed to keep players in the game even on icy pitches.
With a kangaroo leather upper and a gum rubber outsole (a winning combo 👌), the Samba was born – not only meeting the demands of football, but turning heads as something completely different from other sneaks available at the time.
But where did it get the name Samba? At the time the shoe was released, the 1950 World Cup was upcoming in Brazil. adidas wanted to present their latest drop so the name was inspired by Brazil’s association with samba and carnival.
Firmly established on the pitch, the Samba started to make its mark off it.
From the music scene to film, the Samba had found its place. So throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, the 3-Stripes sneaker continued to cement itself as a must-cop.
It didn’t stop there though. Fast forward to today and the Samba is blowing up! Thanks to the likes of Frank Ocean, Kendall Jenner and loads more lacing up in the classic, as well as collabs, the signature sneaker silhouette is still trending. We’re obsessing over how Sarah Ashcroft (@sarahashcroft) is styling it up!
Making waves from TikTok to the streets, it’s a rotation staple. Wanna’ step out in an OG? Shop the complete adidas Originals Samba collection now.
