Summer 2022 was, as many deemed it, a “Samba summer.” No, it wasn’t because speakers in every bar were blasting rhythmic Brazilian music, but because the particular Adidas sneakers were more prevalent than ever. They popped up on social media, sold out in Adidas stores and resurfaced on resale sites, where they went for over 500 percent above retail. (Sambas are only $100, but, at its peak, someone spent $513 for a pair, GQ reported.)
An Icon, Made New Again: the Adidas Samba Classic
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The affordable everyman indoor soccer suddenly shoe suddenly switched up — it went high fashion, thanks in no small part to designer renditions by Grace Wales Bonner, Pharrell and Sporty and Rich founder Emily Oberg. But the hits keep coming, if you will, with more limited-edition Sambas on the horizon. So, how can a buzzy sneaker get even buzzier, you ask? Even though it seems like the fashion elite is slowly moving on, everyone else is catching up, meaning Sambas still have plenty of shoppers left to convert — including plenty of folks that wore Sambas some 10, 15 or even 20 years ago and are long overdue for a fresh pair.
Among those are my childhood best friends, and two true soccer fanatics, Chris and John. John wears a pair of black Samba OG sneakers, the version with the shorter tongue, all the time — to the gym, to pick up a quick dinner and to the occasional bar, especially if soccer is on. But they’d completely written me off, a non-soccer player, as someone who’d wear, let alone like, Sambas.
Selling Out Like Never Before
Then I got two pairs, and with ease, too, despite the shoe’s newfound over-the-top popularity. (Hint: try sport-specific outlets, like soccer.com, not the official Adidas website.) I went with the Samba Classic, the iteration with the extended tongue — the pair truly meant for indoor soccer. It has higher arches, a longer tongue and is easier to slip in and out of. The OG, on the other hand, has almost no arch support, much like the Chuck Taylor-All Star, and a much shorter tongue. There are slight differences in the outsoles, too, but not in tread or traction control, just color.
Stunned by my sudden obsession, both were hesitant to hand out compliments. Weeks later, they turned around. “Not gonna lie,” Chris texted me. “The white Sambas do go hard.” As someone who had previously worn them without thought, to soccer practice and to pick-up soccer games, he suddenly saw them in a new light. Were they suddenly worth the $500 someone paid for them in 2022? No, but he was more willing than ever to try them again, despite their connotations to tryouts and line drills.
