Are the adidas Tokyo Shoes the Next Sambas for 2025? Here’s Why These Sneakers Are Selling Fast.
Stacia Datskovska
Senior Commerce Writer for WWD
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When it comes to fresh releases, adidas is a brand that keeps us on your toes (read: religiously checking its “New & Trending” section). One of the latest launches to join this category is the adidas Tokyo Shoe — reinterpreted in two metallic and two neon colorways. Those devoted to their comparatively no-frills Sambas should take this a sign to go bold for spring and switch it up with these new, head-turning styles.
Still retaining their iconic three-stripe design, vintage silhouette, and “T-toe” overlay, the just-launched adidas Tokyo Shoe revisions stand out from the crowd based on the aforementioned coloring of their soft leather upper, which seems to pop by way of silver and gold or else the ’80s-inspired neon green and pink options that are selling out of sizes as we speak. The brand itself calls the selections “a delight for the daringly fashionable,” so we urge you to waste no time in securing the hot kicks if you consider yourself part of that crowd.
To prove just how significant the adidas Tokyo Shoes are in the footwear universe at large, let’s take a trip down adidas memory lane, shall we? The style was created for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, to serve as a low-profile training shoe. It became available to shop in a direct-to-consumer capacity in 1973 and was re-released this year — a trajectory very much in line with adidas’ penchant for giving new life to standard-setting, archival styles.
Though the adidas Sambas have spent more time in the limelight than their Tokyo counterparts (over the years, the former style has been spotted in the street style getups of A$AP Rocky, Kendall Jenner, Hilary Duff, Rooney Mara, Anne Hathaway, and many more celebrity fans), we’re foreshadowing that the Tokyos will become the cool kid on the block in short order. The reason behind the Sambas’ chokehold on sneakerheads and casual wearers alike has a lot to do with their history — a deep-rooted one, given the fact that the first ones were designed by brand founder Adi Dassler himself, in 1949, to serve as soccer shoes (in this original manifestation, the Sambas looked more like boots than anything else). The style went through waves of intense popularity: embraced by soccer players, soccer fans, skateboarders, and then, suddenly, everyone everywhere all at once.
The heritage Sambas perfectly captures the sporty-chic aesthetic while being in line with the slimmer silhouettes people are currently favoring, but the adidas Tokyos do all that and more. Their soles, for instance, are less bulky: providing a lightweight feel when you’re exploring a new city or else running important errands in your own.
The adidas Tokyos are retro as can be, both through their profile — shunning the chunky for the streamlined — and their ’80s-inspired coloring, not to mention the overall vibes they channel when you style them with a spring dress, casual going-out ‘fit, athleisure, and more. Retro, as it turns out, will continue to be the name of the game for 2025, further proven by the popularity of adidas best-sellers like the designed-in-1973 Country OG, originally intended for cross-country running; the slim-and-stylish SL 72 shoe made for the 1972 Munich Olympics; and the laceless, flat-soled adidas Taekwondo. To be sure, the retro fever touches other major footwear brands (just think back to the Puma Speedcat — a similarly nostalgic option that’s far from passé — being named the “sneaker of the summer” on Lyst Index’s 2024 report for Q3).
The universal hype surrounding shoe styles our parents might have worn back in the day makes the adidas Tokyo Shoe a top contender for “It-style” of the moment. Or maybe everyone is obsessed solely due to the sneaker’s shamelessly radiant hues? Only time will tell if the adidas Tokyo will gain as much traction as the Samba, but, in the meantime, all shoe aficionados should score the fresh releases before inventory completely runs out — mastering the TikTok-viral “wrong shoe theory” by letting their new adidas Tokyo Shoes in “Solar Green” do all the talking.
Shop the Latest adidas Tokyo Shoe Drop
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Meet the Author
Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD and FN. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on trending shoe styles.
