How did you offload yours? Did you bury them ceremoniously in the garden? Perhaps you flogged them on Vinted, donated them to Oxfam or, ever the optimist, consigned them to the back of the wardrobe for a few months/years /millennia, in the hope that one day they’ll be cool again. It’s not going to happen. Even if Adidas signed Bob Dylan, Zinedine Zedane and Cillian Murphy as brand ambassadors, it wouldn’t be enough to rehabilitate the Samba, one of the UK’s most popular and ubiquitous trainers. Or at least they were, until approximately 3pm on Friday 5th April, when Rishi Sunak killed the style stone dead, sending millions into a wardrobe crisis, just in time for the weekend.
By now, you may already have chortled at the memes that flooded the internet shortly after Britain’s Prime Minister was photographed in a pair of box fresh white Sambas while being interviewed on Instagram about National Insurance cuts. You may have cringed at the way he teamed them with a white open-necked shirt and prosaic navy slacks. You may have sighed at this latest attempt to be down with the common people. Did Sunak not learn anything from the flack taken by David Cameron in 2006, when he innocently ventured out in a pair of Converse All Stars? Apparently not.
But let’s not dwell on the bitter irony that a man with an estimated £730m fortune chose to kill off the affordable £90 Samba, instead of, say, the £1025 Balenciaga Cargo, or even the £380 Common Projects sneakers Sunak was seen wearing in 2022. Instead, let’s address the most burning question of the day: if the Samba is dead, what should you replace it with?
Those currently feeling bereft at the loss of their beloved Sambas may, with some justification, opine that there is no alternative which marries form, function and history in the same compelling way. But let us not lament their passing. To quote Sunak himself, we rise to challenges, we will meet them, we’ll get through them and we’ll emerge on the other side stronger. And maybe even better dressed.
Here are some styles that should be exempt from Rishification – at least for now.
The Sambas that aren’t Sambas
Some men change their trainer brands as blithely as their pants. Others are as wedded to one brand as they are to their football team. For those who have sworn allegiance to Adidas ever since their dad took them to Lillywhites as a boy, the sight of Rishi in his boxfresh Sambas will have been a particularly low blow. What’s a man to do when it feels morally wrong to defect to Nike, Puma, Reebok or Asics?
Happily, Adidas isn’t short of Samba substitutes. The most obvious replacement is the Gazelle, another football terrace classic that arrived in 1966, some 13 years after the Samba, and its most similar in appearance. Both are low cut and slimline, but the Gazelle has a shorter toe box panel (no, really – stop me if I’m being too nerdy), with a bulkier midfoot and a white sole.
For some, the white sole is a dealbreaker, but if you can bear losing the Samba’s classic rubber sole, you’ll gain in colourways, since the Gazelle comes in 21 different hues. Still a ‘no’? Try the Spezial, a slimmer iteration that retains the rubber sole, or the SL 72, made famous by the 1972 Munich Olympics. Bit of a short-arse? The chunkier midsole will give you some extra height – a fact that has so far been lost on our 5ft 6in Prime Minister, and will hopefully remain so.
Gazelle, £90, Adidas; SL 72, £80, Adidas
The Nike x Bode Astro Grabber
Hype is at fever pitch for this collaboration between Nike and niche New York-based label, Bode – and not just because designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s “artisanal grandpa chic” (as it’s been called) has such a cult following.
One of Nike’s earliest models, the 1970s Astro Grabber has never been re-released until now, meaning its cult status is assured. Originally designed as a football shoe by Nike’s co-founder, Bill Bowerman, Bode’s new black leather iteration features a cream Swoosh and distinctive cleat-studded treads. It’s the ultimate retro trainer, guaranteed to create a stampede when it’s released at 3.59pm on April 18, an hour that prospective buyers will be praying sees Rishi firmly tied up in an important meeting in an underground bunker with no wifi.
Astro Grabber SP, £140, Bode x Nike
The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
Its name might be a bit of a mouthful, but this hasn’t stopped a coterie of high profile fans including Kaia Gerber, Suki Waterhouse, Joe Jonas and, er, Prince William from making these trainers their own. Unveiled in 1966 during the Mexico City Olympics, the thin-soled shoe was the first to feature parent company Asics’ tiger stripe insignia. The yellow and black iteration is the boldest choice, but it comes in less attention-grabbing colours, too, including black or white.
Mexico 66, £130, Onitsuka Tiger
The Autry Medalist
Originally a tennis shoe, we’re hearing that some shops can’t keep up with demand for this relatively under the radar Texan brand, whose trainers start at a fairly reasonable £120. Are they set to be this year’s Vejas? In which case, Rishi may soon be onto them.
Medalist, £175, Autry
The Nike Air Jordan 3. Or 4.
Firstly, it’s not a trainer but a baseball boot, which would surely be a step too far even for Rishi “down with the kids” Sunak. Secondly, it’s currently trainer of choice among Gen Z, for reasons that remain opaque (“they’re just cool – there isn’t a reason,” shrugged one 18-year-old of my acquaintance). Released in 1988 and designed by Tinker Hatfield (one of the world’s most revered trainer designers) as a way to keep Michael Jordan signed with Nike, the Jordan has all the prerequisites for a cult Gen Z buy: it’s ugly, weird, and looks like it belongs in the nineties. Which means it probably-definitely doesn’t belong on the feet of the PM.
Air Jordan 3, £189.99, Nike
The Loewe Flow Runner
Overpriced, overhyped and indubitably worn by the most try-hard of people, designer trainers reached overkill several seasons ago. But when the designer is Jonathan Anderson, and the brand is Loewe, a hall pass is granted. Anderson has helmed the storied Spanish leather house since 2013: more than ten years later, he’s still at the top of his game, as the popularity of Loewe’s accessories attests.
If you’re one of the thousands who bought Loewe’s Anagram basket bag, you may well already own a pair of Flow Runners, whose swirling ‘L’ insignia, two-tone calfskin and nylon uppers and distinctive gum soles are pleasingly retro, nodding to other cult retro styles by well-known sports brands.
At £595 (expensive, but not fiendishly so – certainly not by designer trainer standards), there’s nothing not to love about spring’s beige and black version. Well, other than the fact that Anderson is one of Akshata Murty’s favourite designers: she’s already been spotted in a pair of his shoes. Nothing to see here, Rishi. Besides, twinning with your wife is never a good look.
Flow Runner, £595, Loewe
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