Sneaker Politics x adidas Samba 'Consortium Cup'
Colorway: Blue Bird/Better Scarlet/Dark Slate · Style code: IE0173 · Release date: November 18, 2023 · Price: $177 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Sneaker Politics x adidas Forum 84 Low 'White Blue' (FZ4306) · Sneaker Politics x adidas Gazelle PK 'Mardi Gras' (BY2831) · Sneaker Politics x adidas Adizero Goukana 'Roadkill' (KJ5480) · Sneaker Politics x adidas Adistar HRMY 'Red Snapper' (HP3634) · Sneaker Politics x adidas LA Trainer OG 'Festival' (KJ0450)
Nylon is the choice that separates this from every other Consortium Cup Samba. Where the model almost always arrives in leather or suede, this one uses a woven synthetic, and the colour list is correspondingly loud: Blue Bird, Better Scarlet and Dark Slate, a three-way contrast with no neutral anywhere in it. The pattern stays standard, so the whole departure lives in surface and tone, which is usually how a partner makes its mark when the silhouette itself is off limits.
It went on sale on 18 November 2023 at 130 dollars in the United States. adidas had handed the model to several Consortium partners that season and the entries arrived within days of each other; the beige and ecru version from END. followed three days later at 135 dollars. The contrast between the two is the most instructive thing about the programme. Given identical constraints, one partner retreated into the tonal cream palette then dominating the model, and the other pushed hard against it with primary colour and a technical fabric. Nylon changes the shoe practically as well: it is lighter than leather, dries faster and holds saturated dye better than suede ever will.