The urban legend in the sneaker world: Adidas Superstar.
Posted by articlelink01 on September 21st, 2016
Originally designed as a basketball shoe in 1969, the Adidas Superstar has evolved to become the most iconic range of urban shoes since the late 70’s. Decked up with trefoil, the three stripes and shell toes, these shoes have always been the head turners in town. The superstar has played a major role in influencing the rise of the “sneaker culture”
When first released, the Superstar donned a leather top and shell toe. The novelty of this design caught the attention of many professional basketball players of that time and soon became very popular among them. The influence Adidas had was remarkable and even though technology advanced in the footwear industry and other brands started entering the competition, the Adidas Superstar was and still is held in high regard even to this day.
Given the huge popularity of these shoes, they eventually made the obvious transition from the basketball court to the street and became a defining fashion statement. By the 80’s, the Adidas Superstar became the fashion choice for many hip hop artists. Adidas soon started making collaborations and it was the first time that a sports brand made use of music for marketing their product.
Fast forward to the 2nd decade of the 21st century and the Adidas Superstar is still the preferred fashion choice for people across all age groups. It has now become more like casual footwear than a sports shoe and appeal highly to all the retro aficionados. The Superstar has been customized time and again over the years but the basic silhouette still remains the same and has earned itself a place in the list of classic Adidas shoes.
Adidas celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Superstar in 2005 by collaborating with eminent faces in the world of fashion, music and arts and created the 35th Anniversary collection.
Presently Adidas shoes are available under six categories with various different customizations, namely:
- Urban: The most iconic Adidas Superstars shoes out, the Urban maintains the original 70’s styling while also adding some nifty new design schemes.
- Special Editions: These are limited edition stocks and aren’t always available. These are rolled out in response whatever is in trend at the moment. There are also limited celebrity edition Superstars that are designed as per the preference of the celebrities donning them.
- Forest Hill: These were released as tennis shoes and have, over time, gained legendary status. The Forest Hills were first made known to the public during the 70’s and the 80’s and were available in a multitude of colors. They all had a leather toe cap which was later got rid of in the 2002 reissue.
- Non Shells: The Non Shells, as the name suggests, do not have the toe shell that was so iconic of the Superstar range of shoes. These were introduced in the 1980’s and were meant to be low-cut basketball sneakers but soon became the go-to casual shoe for many people.
- Womens: The womens range of shoes from Adidas were developed keeping the sneaker loving women in mind and are designed to the latest styles of women’s preference.
- 7 Day Specials: These are the very rare factory samples and limited editions that Adidas rolls out before/if they are mass produced. In fact, only three pairs are made and these shoes are handmade at the Adidas factory in Tangerang Indonesia.
Sneakers have been in fashion for a very long time now and will continue to be so for a long to come. The Adidas superstars has carved out a place for itself in this niche and makes a bold statement with its unique and original design. One can never be disappointed with a few Adidas superstar shoes in their shoe rack.
