The Adidas Stan Smith has continually been referred to over the years as an ‘It’ shoe. Speaking to FN last year, Stan Smith himself revealed the moment he found out about the shoe’s new status.
“My daughter came home and said, ‘Dad, you’re famous,’” he told us. “‘Jay-Z just wrote a song with your name in it.’”
Originally introduced in the 1972 as the first leather tennis shoe on the market, Adidas pulled the style from stores in 2012, only to re-introduce it the following year.
Speaking of this decision, Arthur Hoeld, GM for Adidas Originals told FN, “We tried to anticipate the right timing by predicting a re-emergence of the clean-shoe-silhouette trend.” That moment followed a year later in 2013, when the relaunch focused on collaborations with both stores and designers.
Since then, a slew of celebrities have continued to adopt the style as their go-to street look. Most recently, David Beckham took his pair all the way from the streets of New York City to a party in Madrid celebrating his newest collection with H&M.
Watch on FN
Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have also been photographed wearing the silhouette everywhere from the airport to the party circuit. Hadid wore an all-white pair to the Met Gala after-party, paired with a revealing mini dress. This new generation of fashion “it girls” is ensuring the shoe’s continued placement within popular culture. Furthermore, the shoe continues to be decidely unisex.
“A lot of women have come up to me to tell me they love wearing the shoe. I don’t even think of it as being a shoe for men anymore,” said Smith, speaking to FN after winning Shoe Of The Year at the 2014 FN Achievement Awards. “I sent the photograph [of Gisele Bundchen] to my male friends and a few of them got back saying, ‘What shoe?’”
From Gwen Stefani wearing a pair from Pharrell’s Stan Smith ‘Polka Dot Pack’ to North West, who was seen wearing the kids’ classic style with Velcro fastenings, the shoe’s popularity certainly knows no boundaries.
Click through the gallery to see more celebrities in Stan Smith sneakers.
