Well before Sambas ruled the Tube commute and everyone rediscovered Stan Smiths, there was the trainer that owned everything: the Adidas Superstar. Born in 1969 as a basketball shoe, it was built for pros who needed a shoe that could be put to work. Its rubber shell toe and leather upper were crafted for performance, but culture had other plans. By the ‘70s, NBA players were wearing them off the court; by the ‘80s, hip-hop claimed them as its own. Fast-forward a few decades, and suddenly everyone from Tumblr teens to pop stars was in love with that shell toe.The Superstar has always existed at a rare intersection of music, sport, and street style, much like how Timberlands have defined New York or how Air Force 1s lived (still live) in every London postcode.
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For me, I remember the first pair I ever got like it was yesterday: the blue-and-white box, the squeaky-new white leather with black stripes, that perfect ‘just unboxed’ smell. I slipped them on and instantly felt… cool. Like I’d tapped into some secret club everyone wanted to be in. Back then, everyone had a pair, whether they admitted it or not. Even Kylie Jenner had hers, and somehow that made the rest of us feel like we were part of the same wave.Now, Adidas Originals is giving the Superstar its next chapter. The global campaign, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson - because his voice alone makes anything legendary - stars the people defining today’s culture: Jennie, Kendall Jenner, Olivia Dean, Lamine Yamal, Baby Keem, and more. Music, sport, fashion - they’re all represented, proving the Superstar still belongs at the centre of culture.
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We’re also living in a nostalgia climate where nothing truly dies; it just waits for the right moment. Vans are thriving, Converse has had its renaissance, and suddenly that 2016Superstar feels as fresh as ever.And the styling? Oh, it’s fun. Gone are the skinny jeans and bare ankles of 2016. Today, girls pair Superstars with puddling tailored trousers that graze the shell toe, micro shorts under oversized track jackets with lace socks peeking out, even dresses for contrast. It’s fun but considered, a trainer that has finally grown up with us.
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The Superstar endures because it sits exactly where culture overlaps. It belongs to basketball and hip-hop, to street style and fashion week, to teenage bedrooms and front rows. That kind of range gives it staying power, when a shoe becomes a signifier of taste, it never truly dies.## Shop: Adidas Superstars
adidas Originals, Superstar
adidas Originals, Superstar
adidas Originals, Superstar
Renee Washington*, Grazia's digital fashion and beauty writer, lives online. With a penchant for wispy lashes and streetwear, she writes about the worlds of fashion and beauty from the viewpoint of the modern fashion girlie.*Main Image Credit: Getty Images