Is a certain classic Adidas style going to make a comeback as the next “It” sneaker? Timothée Chalamet might have thoughts on this, after sitting courtside at Monday’s Knicks game wearing a crisp pair of Stan Smiths.
The “Dune” actor was decked out in Adidas at Madison Square Garden to cheer on his beloved Knicks in the second game of the first round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. Chalamet wore dark jeans with an on-theme blue-and-orange Adidas jacket, completing his ensemble with the unmistakable Stan Smiths.
Related Stories
One of the German athletic brand’s most recognizable styles, the Stan Smith originated as a tennis shoe in the 1970s before it became a hugely successful lifestyle sneaker. Known for its minimalist design, the sneaker is white with flashes of green at the heel and tongue, while a perforated version of the three stripes also distinguishes the style. Once Stan Smith was involved with the shoe, his face was showcased on the tongue.
You May Also Like
Smith explained the origins of the shoe in an interview with WWD last year: “It was in ‘72 when we made the agreement. The shoe came out in ’73. Robert Haillet was the best French player in the country then so together with Horst Dassler, [Adidas founder] Adi Dassler’s son, they designed the first leather tennis shoe. In 1972, they were looking to get a stronger presence in the United States. I was the number-one player in the world at the time, and American. They were looking for a good face to put on the tongue, and they couldn’t find one, so they asked me if I’d do it anyway. For about four or five years, until 1978, there’s both my likeness and then his name in different ways on the shoe. Then in ‘78 they took his name off.”
With Hailett no longer associated, a new chapter for the Stan Smith began. Shifting from on-court relevance to off-court popularity, the sneaker proved trendy for several decades — in 1989, Adidas and Stan Smith even earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records after having sold 22 million pairs.
However, interest began to quieten by 2010, and Adidas took the shoe off the market in 2011. Then came a 40th anniversary relaunch in 2013, which renewed excitement around the style, involving custom versions “endorsed by” celebrities who had their own names and faces on the shoe. In another buzzy moment, Gisele Bündchen appeared in the November 2013 Vogue Paris issue wearing the shoes with nothing else. Collaborations with stores and designers helped to propel the shoe back on top as well.
At the 2014 Footwear News Achievement Awards, the Adidas Stan Smith received the Shoe of the Year recognition.
Suffice to say, there was certainly a Stan Smith renaissance in the 2010s — and Timothée Chalamet loves a throwback sartorial gesture, as seen with the Reebok G-Unit boots he wore in December, for example.
In the 2020s, the brand continues to reinvent the Stan Smith, with 2025 releases including a slim-sole version, a beaded update from Clot and Edison Chen, and a SpongeBob-inspired version. Momentum around Stan Smiths might not be as strong as it was in the mid 2010s, but Adidas is working on another relaunch of the sneaker, its most sold shoe ever. So Chalamet’s latest courtside shoe moment could very well be part of a larger comeback story.