With every rise and drop in temperature, comes new fashion to go along with it.
Summer brings about fruity-smelling perfume, open-toed shoes and a hit song that is ruthlessly blasted everywhere you go. Autumn brings pumpkin spice drinks, cute decorations sold at T.J.Maxx and at least one new Ugg boot. With winter comes soft, patterned pajama pants and decorative mugs.
In the summer of 2023, a staple trend has been a type of shoe: the Adidas Samba.
The Samba was originally created in 1949 by Adi Dassler to prevent football players from slipping on icy fields. A part of the shoe was originally made out of kangaroo leather which made it very eye-catching. Decades later, the shoe has been altered and re-designed to fit different conditions and individual needs. Skateboarders in the 1990s took a liking to the shoe because of its traction and ability to grip the board.
Recently, the shoe rose in popularity after model Bella Hadid was seen wearing them as casual streetwear. Paired with classic oversized jeans and a white top, Hadid changed the path for this shoe. The shoe took over social media one post at a time. Instagram feeds were flooded with pictures of Adidas Sambas and pins were instantly created on Pinterest on how to style them. The public started to sell out every Samba in every store and soon enough they became the shoe of the summer. The Adidas Samba is now the company’s second most popular shoe.
The Samba was once a shoe made for burly, athletic males on the field, but it has now since become a wardrobe staple. Why? What made the shoe so popular? The answer: Celebrities.
Famous people have always been who the public turns to for fashion tips. Take Emma Chamberlain for example, a social media influencer whose comment sections on every social media platform include “What are we wearing this summer Emma?”
Bella Hadid, this generation’s “it girl,” has been the main proponent of the shoes. Other popular women in fashion including Hailey Bieber and Katie Holmes, have been spotted wearing multiple variations of the shoe. So naturally, the Samba has been seen on thousands of women’s feet in everyday life (and a select few very fashionable males).
Styling the shoe ranges from frilly white skirts to jorts, but the perfect top to go along with Sambas is universally understood to be some type of jersey. Jerseys have now reached the fashion industry and are worn more as style than for sports. They often come in bright colors and can be easily matched with jeans. Miley Cyrus was seen wearing a Chicago Bulls Jersey as a dress with a pair of heels. The heels perfectly contradict the sportiness of the sporty top.
While jerseys are often worn in support of a team or a particular player, these are now worn just for an appealing look. They were originally meant to be worn by players, typically men, participating in sports. In today’s society, this is another example of women taking a piece of clothing not designed for them and giving it a new purpose.
These are not necessarily made strictly from traditional material, but printed on cotton tank tops and Y2K baby tees, consistent with the sweeping trends that started around two years ago concerning 2000s fashion.
A major part of fashion currently is creating some sort of juxtaposition. It seems to be with societal norms relaxing and gender roles constantly shifting, Gen Z plays with fashion alongside these social changes. Jerseys and Sambas? Both originally made for men; now worn by women across the country. And these items aren’t being worn in their traditionally masculine way, but rather with accessories typically deemed to be feminine. Jerseys worn with small ribbons in the hair perfectly contradict that stereotype. It adds just a bit of femininity that sheds a new light on the piece of clothing.
It makes sense that the generation obsessed with thrifting and recycling has begun to reinvent every single article of clothing, even those originally designed for utilitarian purposes.
The summer of 2023 brought many, some might dare claim slightly odd, trends with clothing that was previously for athletics and have transformed them into staple pieces that can be worn with everything. Trends might come and go just as fast as the weather changes, but there is one undeniable trend that is defining the 21st century: making fashion more open for everyone. Sambas aren’t really just a shoe, but rather a symbol of the everchanging social fabric that comes with each generation.
