Farewell, Adidas Sambas – what is next in footwear?

At least for now, many people will want to give their footwear a cabinet reshuffle. So what other shoes can fill the void?

The Adidas Samba trainer was declared dead in the water this week, after the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was pictured wearing a pair. While observers pointed out the moral backwardness of cancelling a shoe based on an outing on a politician’s feet rather than longstanding evidence of workers in the sportswear giant’s supply chain being mistreated, the internet is suddenly full of people searching for their next step.

Sunak has since issued a “fulsome apology” and the Samba has seen continued popularity on online marketplaces such as StockX, with the ever-popular adidas x Wales Bonner Samba currently being traded at a 327% price premium. But, for many, the damage is done.

While no one is suggesting throwing away perfectly good shoes just because Sunak wore a similar pair, for those looking to retire their Sambas there are many more options.

One of the things that made the Samba so appealing was its sleekness. “Broadly speaking,” says Tom Barker, style editor of Highsnobiety, a fashion and culture website loved by sneakerheads, “we’re moving away from the old school chunky dad sneaker.” Now, he says, “we’re looking for something a lot thinner and a lot sleeker”.

For those wanting to be conservative with a small “c”, there are other Adidas trainers with similarly thin soles and slinky dimensions, such as the Gazelle. The only problem is that to the untrained eye they might be hard to tell apart from Sunak’s choice.

The Stan Smith would be the sustainable choice, with many a wardrobe across the country already home to a pair. A previous contender for the most ubiquitous shoe in Britain thanks in no small part to the designer Phoebe Philo, who wore them to take her post-shows bows when she was still designing at Céline, they have a similarly sleek silhouette and the ability to rest elegantly and subtly under a trouser leg. But, given the trend cycle is supposedly 20 years, it might be a little soon for that particular renaissance.

Fashion insiders are hailing the new collaboration between NY fashion brand Bode and Nike as producing the next “It-trainer”, a take on the Astro Grabber style from Nike’s archive. Already spotted on the feet of the model Kaia Gerber, despite not yet being released, it has the makings of a shoe that a lot of people will find something to love about. “It’s another example of these very, very thin sneakers,” says Barker. “It’s Nike basically trying to keep up with that demand.”