The Anti-Trend: Explaining the Rise of Simple Sneakers
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By Stadium Goods |The Anti-Trend: Explaining the Rise of Simple Sneakers
We analyze why more basic models like the Nike Dunk, adidas Samba, and New Balance 550 are currently the hottest sneakers in the world.
Mat DeSciora
When the Nike Dunk returned in a big way in 2020, it brought back with it more than nostalgic memories of a bygone era in sneakers when it last reigned supreme. The retro basketball and skateboarding shoe’s comeback sparked an appreciation for “simple sneakers.” Originally designed for athletic use, a simple sneaker makes up for its lack of technological innovation by today’s standards with a timeless, no-frills simplicity. A kind of simplicity that, in our post pandemic world, has come to be appreciated by collectors looking for cost-efficient sneakers that favor comfort and versatility over hype and exclusivity.
While the effects of the pandemic changed the way sneakers are consumed, there’s a theory that a fatigue from the chase of obtaining hyped sneakers also contributed to the rise of simple sneakers.
Perhaps looking to move on from frustrating raffles, lineups, and other means of obtaining limited edition sneakers like the Off-White x Nike and Travis Scott x Air Jordan collaborations, collectors began seeking out sneakers with a more ubiquitous nature to them. In other words, people are now just buying sneakers that they can easily get without jumping through hoops. One can only take so many rejections from the Nike SNKRS app.
The perfect example of a “simple” sneaker catching fire is the “Panda” Nike Dunk Low. With no hype behind it when it originally released in March 2021, the black-and-white Dunk caught fire on TikTok that same year when users lauded it for its inclusivity and wearability. Fast forward to 2023, and the “Panda” Dunk is everywhere, and still one of the top sellers here at Stadium Goods.
adidas Samba “White” and “Black”
In 2022, the adidas Samba became one of the hottest sneakers in the game when it fell back in favor with the fashion and streetwear worlds after the Samba was seen on Bella Hadid in a street style photo. From there, the Samba had a meteoric rise when fashion designers like Grace Wales Bonner and Emily Oberg and artists like Pharrell collaborated on colorways. These coveted collaborations only caused the Samba’s most attainable colorway, the “White/Black,” to reach new heights of popularity.
The New Balance 550 is another example of a simple sneaker becoming popular in the post Dunk, post pandemic world. After quietly disappearing soon after its original release in 1989 as a performance basketball shoe, the 550 was brought back by Aimé Leon Dore in 2020 when Teddy Santis’s clothing brand tapped the shoe as “next.” Colorways inspired by the 550’s basketball roots helped start the vintage trend in sneakers, and bring even more attention to styles that were once far removed from the mainstream of sneaker culture.
The Dunk, Samba, and 550 have all changed the idea that only rare, exclusive sneakers could be valuable. So pick up your Sambas, Dunks, 550s, and other low-profile, no-nonsense sneakers and put them in your weekly rotation, because the “simple” sneaker trend is here to stay. There will always be a place in our culture—and closets—for classic-looking sneakers that go with everything.