Trainers are to the fashion population what loincloths were to cavemen. They’re an essential, nay indispensable, item in the world of which they’re a part. But, just as there were with loincloths – no shorter than the buttocks! – there are rules pertaining to trainers if you’re going to wear them in a fashion-approved way.

Firstly, they must be box-fresh and clean. I recommend dousing them, while they’re still fresh out of the box, with a decent suede or leather protectant spray, which should cost no more than a fiver to buy. This will do the hard work of keeping the material soft and supple while you do the easy job of side-stepping puddles. And secondly, they must be a current silhouette, the sort that fashion lovers are tumbling over their Manolos to snap up. Enter, the Adidas Samba.

Conceived by the brand’s founder Adi Dassler in 1949, the Samba was initially designed to help provide traction on frozen ground for athletes. Fast forward seven decades and several redesigns and, in an athleticism of another kind, the Samba has been cemented as 2023’s trainer to watch among the ever-agile style set. The #AdidasSamba hashtag has been viewed more than 95.4 million times on TikTok and, according to Google Trends, searches for Sambas have spiked by 350% over the last 90 days. In fact, the trainer’s popularity has spiked so sharply of late that nabbing a pair has been akin to getting your hands on tickets to Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour (ie: virtually impossible).

The recent surge in popularity of the show will come as no surprise to fashion fans. In recent years, fashion-first, comfort-second trainers – not to be confused with just comfortable trainers – have become a mainstay in fashion circles. New Balance 550s are almost sold out everywhere, Asics chunky-soled trainers sell like hot cakes and Adidas’s OG silhouette, the Gazelle, is in such short supply that those who own them are rationing their use like others are rationing butter post-Brexit. The Samba is the latest sneaker to join the fleet – the trainer world’s popular group, so to speak.

To wear them like the style set, opt to pair them with trousers. A boxy-style suit has proven popular, as have wide-leg trousers. The goal is to wear yours peeping just ever-so-slightly out of the bottom of something wide, slouchy and flared – if you can get your hands on a pair, that is. 

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