Adidas Superstar is a style of low-top

athletic shoe Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

which has been manufactured by the German multinational company

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

since 1969. The design is nicknamed the "shell toe", "shell shoe", and "shell top" due to its rubber shell toe cap.

History

In the early 1960s, Adidas sought to expand into the American basketball market, which at the time was dominated by Converse. The company introduced the Superstar in 1969 as a low-top version of the Pro Model basketball shoe. It was the first low-top basketball shoe to feature an all-leather upper and was marketed as providing better support than Converse's

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

shoes. With its rubber toe protection and non-marking sole, the shoe caught the attention of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players, notably

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...

and George Gervin. By 1973, the Superstar was reportedly worn by more than 75% of all NBA players. Around 1976, Adidas released updated versions of the original shoes called the Pro Model II and Superstar II. The designs of both shoes were updated with a new look and better materials. These specific versions of the shoes would eventually lose the "II" and be referred as just the "Pro Model" and "Superstar" by the company, taking the place of the original models. As it was replaced by newer designs for basketball, the second iteration of the Superstar found a new market as casual footwear, propelled largely by the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

scenes. Hip hop group

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

wore regular street clothes on stage instead of traditional pop-standard costuming. The trio continued to wear Superstars on their US concert tour, which in turn increased sales. Responding to an anti-sneaker rap song by Jerrald Deas called "Felon Sneakers", the trio released a song of their own called " My Adidas" in 1986. The song paid tribute to the Superstar shoe and attempted to flip the stereotype of the ' b-boy'. Adidas eventually signed an advertising deal with Run-D.M.C., which was the first endorsement deal between hip-hop artists and a major corporation. The brand subsequently released a Run-D.M.C. clothing line.

Models

Superstar II

The current Superstar II used to go by just the Superstar until February 2025 when Adidas decided to bring back its original name. Before then, the "II" would only appear in the model's name for collaborations or special releases. This version has been made in many colors and designs, including themes such as NBA teams and major US cities. In 2015, Adidas sold over 15 million pairs of the style, making it the brand's top-selling sneaker of the year.

35th Anniversary Series

In 2005, Adidas collaborated with pop icons from the world of music, fashion, and the arts to create the Adidas 35th Anniversary collection, which included 35 different models from five different series.

Superstar ADV

A skateboard version that released in 2015. The shoe featured a different leather upper to reduce weight, impact protection, and a combined sockliner and midsole for better comfort.

Superstar XLG

Superstar XLG is a bigger model of the shoe released in 2023 that features a bigger sole and bigger leather upper.

References

External links

* {{Adidas Adidas Products introduced in 1969 1970s fashion 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 2020s fashion