Since its inception, adidas has been associated with mass sports such as football, basketball, and tennis, as well as other sports that introduced new ideas.
As an alternative to the adidas Samba, which served as the company’s first major football model, a slew of new designs emerged, each with its own story.
Adi Dassler and sport
adidas was founded on Adi Dassler’s passion for shoes and, in particular, sports. Not just one sport, but every sport. Since its inception in 1949, adidas has been associated with sports, and its three stripes have become synonymous with physical activity. adidas has since broadened its social impact in areas such as culture, music, and art, while never losing sight of its roots.
Adi Dassler surrounded himself with athletes from all disciplines and designed footwear for a variety of sports.
adidas, football, Samba and its alternatives
Adi adored Sport and adidas became the Brand of Sport. While enjoying global success with the German national football team, he was designing ice hockey skates, following Horst Floth’s advice to create bobsleigh shoes and researching how to improve gymnast Olga Korbut’s shoes.
Shoes for skydiving, figure skating, rowing, curling, and ski jumping were among his most unusual designs. Always developed together with the legends of each sport.
The influence on style
Many sports models grow from their original concept to become cultural icons. It is a well-known development in mass-market sports products, such as the adidas Samba, but it also works in shoes for minor sports. Sometimes it has a direct impact on another sport, as was the case with certain racquet sports models that shared a stand with the Samba. Sometimes its significance goes unnoticed for years, if not decades, before it has a significant impact on future designs.
This is the case with the trekking and mountain designs created for climber Reinhold Messner, whose lines can now be seen on the adidas Winterhill. Liam Gallagher’s adidas LG2 is inspired by the squash player Jonah Barrington. Another shoe in the Spezial saga, the Wensley, was loosely inspired by a fencing model made in the USSR.
The adidas Taekwondo, designed to adapt to tatami movements, became a popular silhouette on the streets in the early 2000s because it perfectly matched the trends of the time (which are now resurfacing). And, if we want to be completely accurate, the Adilette, a flip-flop with significant stylistic relevance, was originally designed as a shower shoe at the request of some coaches. While a shower may not be considered a sport, the Adilette’s utility extends far beyond its original purpose.
Football for other sports, alternatives to the adidas Samba
Surprisingly, many of the silhouettes we recognise today as being associated with the Terrace aesthetic, such as the Samba, have origins far removed from football, despite becoming popular in stadium stands. Such was the adidas Handball Spezial, a handball model introduced in the late 1970s in Germany, where the sport was popular. However, the current revival of the adidas Handball Spezial began on the football pitch: British fans discovered the Handball during their trips to Germany; in the UK, they were an absolute rarity, which made them more appealing.
The adidas Tischtennis was originally designed for elite table tennis players. Today, its open mesh is an ideal summer alternative to the Samba and other Terrace silhouettes.
Adi Dassler’s enthusiasm for sports inspired him to create functionalities and new aesthetics that have had a significant impact on other activities. An example of how looking beyond your sphere of influence can be critical to continued growth.
Seven decades after its founding, adidas continues to design for sport and draws inspiration from various sports to enhance its legacy.