by Daniel so
on Complex.com
High fashion and sportswear
have always been steady complements in
the broader realm of style
We’ve seen time and again how
one usually influences the other and
in the world of sneakers
nothing may be as timeless and stylish as
the adidas Stan Smith
It was the first ever
leather tennis sneaker and
had a somewhat colorful history
after its initial drop in 1963
long before the modern runway show
we know today and
over a decade after
it actually became the Stan Smith
The shoe was first named after
French tennis pro Robert Haillet in 1965
but it wasn't until 1973
after he retired
that it was renamed for Smith
It was a wise decision
adidas was trying to break
the U.S. market at the time and
Smith was the top player in America
so it was a natural fit
O.G. cats probably still know these as
the adidas Robert Haillets
but for the newer generation
myself included
Smith is the face (and name)
we've all come to recognize
From that moment
a movement was born
By the late 1980s into the early '90s
adidas sold over 23 million pairs
earning a spot in the Guinness World Records
Nike even released a similar shoe in 1973
the Tennis Classic
that may have been spurred by
adidas' success
More recently, however
Phoebe Philo, creative director at
French fashion house Céline is
widely credited with
bringing the Stan Smith to the forefront of
stylish Parisians and the world over after
rocking a pair during
fashion week in Spring 2010
This unofficial endorsement of sorts
made waves in the industry and
can be huge when it comes to
fashion stans trying to
embrace the next big thing
Fast forward to 2014 and
you'll see any number of
celebrities and influencers wearing
the three perforated stripes
Another big nod came in May when
adidas announced they'd be releasing
10 pairs of Stan Smiths all hand-painted by
The Neptunes' very own Pharrell and even
Raf Simons got to create a
signature rendition of the sneaker, too
Perhaps it's this
culmination of celebrity exposure that
we've seen a spate of high-fashion brands
releasing their own interpretations of
the iconic tennis shoe
The celebrity appeal and
its luxury association with fashion designers
have given the Stan Smith plenty of
stock with people of all ages and incomes
So it's not surprising that ever since these
and a broader sportswear trend in general
saw a return to the runway in recent years
there's been a huge influx of designers
trying to cash in on the
simple yet stylish aesthetic of
the Stan Smith
Or perhaps it's the rich history of
the Stan Smith coupled with its
recent return to the international stage that
gave the fashion world the confidence
it needed to inspire their own versions—
its minimalist approach makes it
the perfect canvas for others to draw on
Arguably the most important and earliest
adopter of the silhouette among them is
Common Projects
They first entered the foray in 2004
but it wasn't until several years later that
its appeal began gaining steam after
the hiatus of the Stan Smith
Eschewing cluttered details and
favoring clean design
their Achilles model was essentially
an even-more-stripped-down Stan Smith at
its core with a sleeker toe box
retooled midsole and
premium Italian leather upper
They were widely touted by
the style cognoscenti and became
the de facto sneaker for the
slightly sophisticated and thus
a trend was born
Luxury iterations from the likes of
Saint Laurent Paris,
ETQ Amsterdam, Buttero and
Acne Studios
are now ubiquitous and
can be found far and wide
thanks to the Achilles
which is truly a testament to
how perfect the silhouette is
But when all is said and done
the Stan Smith sneaker without
Stan Smith the player is still a great shoe
which begs the question:
Did the simplicity of the silhouette
transcend both the athlete and adidas?
Would an Air Jordan 1-inspired sneaker ever
have the same appeal without
Michael Jordan and a Swoosh
but made with better
materials and craftsmanship?
That’s all up to you
It's a matter of personal preference
style and taste and
whether one's a traditionalist or not
No matter which way you look at it
it's impossible to deny
the Stan Smith’s influence on
the modern sneaker industry and
its high fashion counterparts and
how a shoe so old can still be relevant
in a world increasingly
dominated by seasonal microtrends
Daniel So is an associate editor at Complex and
ironically doesn't own any of these shoes.
You can follow him on Twitter here.