It’s only a few weeks into May, but the race to anoint the the sneaker of the summer is already heating up. If 2022 belonged to the Samba, the latest batch of would-be kings hails from a familiar lineage: Over the last few months, Adidas has put some serious mojo behind two unlikely contenders, both deeply indebted to the Y2K-adjacent silhouettes that currently reign supreme. The latest beneficiaries of the Three Stripes’ press blitz are the Adimatic and the Campus 00s—a duo of oversized skate shoes that feel primed to knock the Samba off its pedestal. And right now, misty-eyed sneaker fiends and Gen Zers on the hunt for the next hit silhouette are gobbling them up like mall rats wolfing down lukewarm Sbarro’s.
Decades before skate style was on the fashion radar, sneaker juggernauts like Vans and Converse catered to the community with sleek, durable shoes designed for an elite-level board feel. But in the late ‘90s, the biggest names in the business pulled a full 180: Osiris, Etnies, even, yes, Adidas began rolling out shoes with beefed-up proportions and pillow-y tongues designed for all-day comfort. It wasn’t long before they crossed the rubicon from performance wear to pure fashion, as a natural fit for the era’s billowy pants and a staple of the fledgling pop-punk scene.
Last year, Adidas began to issue retros of the Adimatic in earnest, and has since collaborated with a who’s who of big-name streetwear presences—the bleeding-edge boutique Atmos, pro skater Jamal Smith, the cult-loved Japanese brand Neighborhood—to bolster its profile. Meanwhile, the Campus 00s, an updated version of the brand’s legendary ‘80s basketball sneaker that only looks like it jumped off the shelves of your local Journeys, has quickly become a cornerstone of Gen Z nostalgia. On TikTok, videos pegged to the silhouette have over 100 million views and counting, and a new collaboration with Bad Bunny is reportedly on the way.
Adidas’ buzziest new kicks represent just the latest peak in the Y2K-era craze, a rising tide that’s also buoyed the fortunes of baggy jeans, wraparound shades, and mesh-y running sneakers. Not quite ready to break out the ol’ puka shell necklace or upside-down visor? No need: As long as you keep your pants appropriately baggy, either of them are a great way to inject your fits with a jolt of turn-of-the-millennium energy—and keep your dogs housed in cloud-like comfort. The footwear equivalent of “How do you do, fellow kids?” has never looked so cushy.
Jake Woolf
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