Adidas Stan Smith History - Almost 60 Years of Style!

Besides Converse’s Chuck Taylors, not many signature sneakers can survive the test of time and stay relevant. However, one silhouette certainly made it big time and still is a pillar of lifestyle kicks: the Adidas Stan Smith. So today, we’re gonna take a closer look at the history of the silhouette and see how it became a classic as we know it. Now, let’s check it all out along with some really cool insights and collaborations, shall we? But just before we get into that, here are some other backstories and rundowns of our favorite silhouettes:

Adidas Stan Smith – A History

Let’s start from where every huge, and good, story starts: the beginning. In 1963, Adidas developed with the French tennis player Robert Haillet their first tennis shoe. The goal of these kicks was to improve comfort and breathability! Two years later (1965), Adidas named the kicks after Haillet himself. Now, in 1971, Robert Haillet retired, and with that, Adidas needed a new face for their signature tennis shoes. Queue Stanley Roger Smith.

Stan Smith is a former World #1 tennis player and two-time major singles champion! That’s not all, because, in 2005, he was one of the 40 greatest players of that era according to Tennis magazine. And he went from being an International Tennis Hall of Famer in 1987 to becoming its president in 2011! So all in all, Stan Smith is a pretty big name when it comes to tennis. And some people still think he’s a shoe!

They aren’t too far off though. In 1973, Adidas and Stan Smith signed a deal and it was his face on the kicks’ tongue from there! However, Haillet’s name stayed on the side of the kicks until 1978 when Adidas officially changed the name to Stan Smith. And well, the rest is history.

The Design

The OG tennis shoe featured a white leather upper, rubber outsole, and synthetic material insoles. However, with sneaker brands moving towards sustainable products, Stan Smiths underwent a change of material. So now, the kicks feature vegan uppers and rubber waste outsoles. And, according to the insoles, the Adidas Stan Smith is made of Primegreen, which is a series of high-performance materials.

Originals & Shoe of the Year – Adidas Stan Smith

If you wanna survive in a competitive environment like the sneaker industry, you need to reinvent yourself, even the best-sellers. And with sneaker tech advancements, there will always be a more comfortable performance shoe. So what happens to the older kicks? They either go to the archive and die or become lifestyle kicks. And that’s exactly what the three-stripes brand did with the Adidas Stan Smith.

You see, in 1995, the millennium was ending, and the sneaker industry was evolving. But the Adidas Stan Smith was becoming more than a tennis shoe, and Adidas knew that. So, in 2001, Adidas introduced the Originals line with the Stan Smiths headlining as their lifestyle kicks! 10 years later though, Adidas decides to discontinue the Stan Smiths in 2011.

That archival didn’t last for too long though! In 2014, Adidas Stan Smith celebrated its 50th anniversary with a comeback. And well, Footwear News fittingly chose the silhouette as the shoe of the year. This further backed the fact that these babies will probably be relevant for many years to come.

Favorite Collaborations

If you want kicks to resell and start a side hustle, Stan Smiths might not be the best option. However, they certainly are a must-have in your sneaker arsenal. After all, the silhouette’s sales crossed the 100 million mark by 2020. And if you wanna have a little fun, here are our top 3 personal favorite Adidas Stan Smith collaborations! Mind you, the Stan Smith repertoire has a ton of amazing collaborations that happened throughout the years. The silhouette wouldn’t endure as long as it did if it didn’t have something for everyone.