Why Adidas's Samba Design Is Still Kicking It After 65 Years

The sneaker with three stripes and 35 million fans

Inspiration meets innovation at Brandweek, the ultimate marketing experience. Join industry luminaries, rising talent and strategic experts in Phoenix, Arizona this September 23–26 to assess challenges, develop solutions and create new pathways for growth. Register early to save.

Six years ago, a little-known U.K. film called Awaydays took a nostalgic walk back to the Thatcher-era world of "the casuals," a pack of working-class English adolescents who smoked, drank, screwed and fought for the love of football, all the while escaping the notice of the police by dressing as dandies in Aquascutum jackets, argyle sweaters, Fred Perry polo shirts—and Adidas Sambas.

Photo: Nick Ferrari

The blokes who popularized the Samba in the early 1980s weren't alive when the shoe first emerged in the 1950s, just like the kids who wear them today weren't around in the 1980s.

AW+

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

To Read the Full Story Become an Adweek+ Subscriber

View Subscription Options

Already a member? Sign in