Adidas Samba

Adidas Samba History

Before there was an unshattered legacy, the Adidas Samba took many forms and style which adapts to the concurrent trends the human mind can muster. May it be for work of some sort or just for casual frolicking around, the Samba stood still as an iconic sneaker that persuades mankind of its relevance in the footwear pantheon rather than the other way around. It was somewhat a masterpiece ingeniously mastering the art of versatility and all-around function.

But since when did the Adidas Samba came about? Let’s start from the early struggles of the creator himself, Mr. Adi Dassler.

The now-famous Adolf Dassler was surprisingly involved in a different career path before he started to gain interest in strapping the feet with leather and rubber. A multi-sport enthusiast, mister Dassler frequented himself in the bosom of athletic ventures like skiing, shot-putting, javelin throwing, and, of course, long-distance running instead of throwing his life away studying how to bake. His father served as his mentor throughout the early learnings of shoe-making, and eventually, he caught a knack for it.

Being a multi-platform athlete made Adi realize that shoes should be sport-specific which can result in very significant outcomes. This specialized-shoe concept was simultaneously being harnessed along with his shoe stitching skills which would later become handy for decades to come. Due to the state of regimen during the time, his mother was forced to give up their laundry business which became Adi’s workshop for assembling shoes in 1919.

Power outage then was prominent and having a grasp in any amount of electricity was scarce; thus Adi had to maneuver a way to mechanize his footwear production. Josef Erhardt pedaled a stationary bike reconstructed to be made into a milling machine and was Adi’s known first employee. Materials and parts were also futile during the era hence pushed our hard-working protagonist to innovate and step the game up a notch. Silk from parachutes became material for slippers while army helmets supplied the leather needed to create soles.

Soon after, Adi’s older brother by two years joined their team. After Rudolf Dassler completed his training as a policeman, Adi pulled him into his striving business. The duo named their business Gebruder Dassler Sportschuhfabrik in 1924. The company was split into two divisions; Adi spearheaded the technical side of things thanks to his strong inclination to sports while Rudolf handled the marketing and business aspect. The two seemed to complement each other resulting in a production line of 50 pairs of shoes a day.

Sales continued to flourish, and the 50 assembly cap turned into a hundred after they transferred to a larger facility near the Herzogenaurach Train Station. Their creeping fame seemed an excellent opportunity to expand; thus they sought out the resonating prowess of Jesse Owens who raked in a heap load of titles during the 1936 Summer Olympics. Despite the undergoing tensions between classes and governing bodies, Adi Dassler approached Owens and proved to be right all along. The athlete’s feat shockwaved throughout the whole sports industry which gave Adi and Rudolf’s company the boost it has long awaited.

  The Adidas Samba Original Story

But all of that came to a halt when the two Dassler brothers developed a gap within their relationship. Rudolf went on to establish a new firm initially called Ruda while Adi created Adidas in 1949. Their unharmonious split led to different paths which fortunately gave birth to two sportswear powerhouses known today. The death of something gave birth to an icon that stands strong like unwavering Greek pillars in the dunes of the ever-so-shifting footwear realm. In the dawn of the 1950s, the Adidas Samba was incarnated.

Created to survive the vigorous game of soccer while keeping the players’ feet dry and protected from the icy, hard ground during winter, the Adidas Samba was known to perform. Released in the year 1950, it was outfitted with a kangaroo leather upper for comfort and a gum rubber outsole for traction. It also flaunted the famous 3-stripes that provided lateral support.

This trainer, however, was not only praised for its high-performance. It was also admired for its simple, clean and retro look. Both athletes and sneaker enthusiasts liked its classic aesthetics that looked great both on and off the field.

Soon after, this athletic footwear transformed into a casual shoe was loved by the popular culture including sought-after icons and celebrities. The silhouette served as a symbol of streetwear flair and sleek style which was not only adored by casual Earth settlers but also of people with a following. It is safe to say that the Samba’s stature as footwear is as reliable as the Rock of Gibraltar when it comes to sneakerhead fandom.

Either overflowing with soul or expressively loud, musicians were one of the “numero uno” fans of the Adidas Samba black colorway. A prolific Samba loyalist, Freddie Mercury had been seen strutting down these bad boys on and off stage. Speaking of the glorified artist, Rami Malek personified Mercury’s character and the way he styled in the film Bohemian Rhapsody which highlights those Three striped shoes. Several members of other British groups also joined the bandwagon including bands like Blur, Oasis, and Arctic Monkeys.

Female artists like Hayley Williams had momentous poses with the Sambas during her earlier performances on stage which are even included in an EP cover from 2004. Another empowering woman seen wearing the Sambas while walking the streets is Rihanna. The same thing happened with Rita Ora as she was witnessed roaming the pavements of Beverly Hills.

Of course, a quintessential piece of wardrobe like the Samba can never escape the Hollywood limelight. Films and TV series even utilized the timeless low top in their main characters. An up-close camera angle of the black with white stripes Sambas was featured in the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen worn by Shia Labeouf when a fragment of the AllSpark fell from his bag. Another instance in a movie where the Samba was highlighted was in You, Me, and Dupree where Owen Wilson subliminally advertised the sneaker by wearing it almost a hundred percent throughout the whole film.

  The Samba Legacy

Quick to meet the needs and demands of their new target market, the brand revamped and altered this model in various materials and colorways while precisely maintaining the shoe’s original look.

To date, this Samba by Adidas maintains its iconic status. In fact, over 35 million pairs of this shoe have been sold worldwide making it the 2nd most popular model among all Adidas’ shoes. Not only that, the sneaker, having been around for more than 65 years, is also the oldest classic model that is still in production.

The Adidas Samba Original is only one among the many versions of this timeless silhouette. Despite the many color variations available in the market today, the classic black and white colorway remains the most sought-after.

Another crowd-favorite iteration was the Adidas Samba with white leather uppers and black stripes on top of a gum rubber sole which was known to be in the collection of Jonah Hill himself. Various editions sprout out like mushrooms throughout the Samba’s long-lasting reign including one in a knitted material most commonly known as the Adidas Samba Primeknit.

A flat-sole sneaker like the Adidas Samba Classic would also attract skaters of all sorts hence the invention of the Adidas Samba ADV. The ADV revamps the classic look of the sneaker and gives it more utility via the TPU heel clip to be able to cope up with the extreme sports’ grinding and flipping.

Ladies were also gifted an exclusive piece of the Samba zeitgeist courtesy of the Adidas Samba Rose. The silhouette reinvents the old Adidas Samba shoes for women and gives it a platform look ready to strut down the catwalk and the streets. The ripples seen on the Kamanda were featured in the Adidas Originals Samba women’s sneaker’s outsole giving it improved traction in an elevated look.