Adidas’s Most Popular Sneaker Officially Enters Its Luxury Era

New variants of the Samba bring premium materials — and price tags — to the iconic Adidas model.

Published October 23, 2024

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Updated October 24, 2024

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The Samba used to be a simple sneaker. Black or white upper? Long tongue or regular? Gum sole or … never mind, that’s all you’re getting.

But the meteoric rise of Adidas’s iconic soccer shoe, driven by countless celebrity spottings, has spurred an equally diverse number of variants from the Three Stripes.

The most recent of these comes courtesy of none other than British designer Grace Wales Bonner, who just unveiled one of the most luxe versions of the Samba to date as part of her ongoing collaboration with the German sportswear giant.

blue adidas sneaker — The new Wales Bonner Samba features premium materials like croc-embossed leather and golden aglets on the laces.

Adidas Wales Bonner Samba

The $300 shoe — available in two colorways, navy or tan — boasts a crocodile-embossed upper and hand-woven tongue, both constructed from leather.

toebox of tan adidas shoe — The Wales Bonner Samba comes in two colorways, including light brown (pictured).

It also features nubuck stripes, golden aglets and decorative stitching toward the heel.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the most expensive Samba that’s surfaced this year, let alone this month.

Adidas recently unveiled the Samba OG Made in Italy, which arrived with hand-polished calf leather and cost $350.

tan leather adidas sneakers — The Samba OG Made in Italy features hand-polished leather and cost $350.

Meanwhile, an extra-padded version of the Samba, released in collaboration with Shanghai-based designer Dingyun Zhang, also broke cover with a $250 price tag.

brown suede adidas sneakers with red accents — At $250, Dingyun Zhang’s cushioned take on the Samba (pictured) is only slightly more affordable.

All three versions of the Samba represent a significant journey upmarket for the OG Samba, which currently goes for just $100 on Adidas’s website.

Is Grace Wales Bonner’s vision for the sneaker actually worth three times the price? Apparently so: it sold quickly upon release via Adidas’s Confirmed app and now demands upward of $400 on resale sites like StockX.