After a summer dominated by a whole lotta love for retro sneakers—the Adidas Samba in particular—we’re starting to think that the big and bulky dadcore sneaker of recent years was actually some sort of fever dream. But while the Samba has reinvented itself, collabing hard with the likes of Wales Bonner and James Dill, it’s looking like it might just have jumped the shark at this stage.
But fear not, there are plenty of other options for your retro hit. Here are five we love…
Puma Star
The Puma Star is actually a reissue—and renaming—of a classic silhouette, the Puma Wimbledon. While a collaboration with sustainable US fashion brand, Noah, the shoe retains all of its late 1970s appeal, with the ripped out Puma, and beaten look that the streets are calling for right about now.
Adidas Gazelle
If you’re feeling a little played out in your Sambas but would like to keep things in the family, the Gazelle is still firing. The OG shoe once beloved of football casuals everywhere has a huge new range of colourways and is doing crazy things on TikTok. The feeling is get in now while the going is good. We could be at the tipping point here.
Nike Cortez
The first track shoes to be released by Nike in 1972, the Cortez long since passed from the track to the street. Worn in its early days by the likes of NWA’s Eazy-E—bizarrely then becoming the shoe of choice for the Mexican gang MS-13—it remains a simple silhouette that, in its purest form, will work with a variety of looks.
Reebok C Club Revenge
The C Club style silhouette was released in 1985—C standing for Champion—and for a while, with the brand outselling Nike, that’s exactly what it meant. Although the shoe disappeared later, it returned in a new guise to low success, with collabs with skate brand Palace and others.
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66
After an early partnership with Nike, the Japanese brand would go on to become Asics, Asics then re-releasing Onitsuka Tiger as a lifestyle flex in 2000. This OG silhouette was hugely popular amongst clubbers in the noughties, and also featured on the feet of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Now it’s the perfect way to avoid the usual suspects in your search for low-key sneaker satisfaction.