Why Adidas’ Taekwondo Sneakers Are the Subsequent ‘It’ Trend Sneakers

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Simply whenever you assume you’re caught up with one of the best Adidas shoe developments, there’s all the time one other trendy Three Stripes sneaker ready within the wings. The subsequent “It” sneaker? Adidas’ Taekwondo shoe, and the proof is within the knowledge. Lyst’s lately launched Q1 2025 report recognized it because the second hottest product on this planet and the hottest shoe (it’s “the newest low-profile form to excite vogue followers,” per the worldwide procuring platform). This viral standing is confirmed on the streets, too, with celebrities donning the acquisition in current weeks as the last word spring model weapon.

By far the Taekwondo’s greatest A-list supporter is the last word cool lady: Jennifer Lawrence. It was again in March that she debuted the sneaker, in a leather-based model that has a black-and-white higher for added chicness. Since then, Lawrence has been sporting the slimmed-down sneaker at the side of lengthy spring coats, brightly hued cashmere sweaters, and different transitional climate accruements. It’s additionally been noticed on the toes of Gracie Abrams, Rita Ora, and Ayo Edebiri prior to now yr, infusing their numerous ‘matches with covetable edge.

The sheer reputation of the Adidas Taekwondo shoe could seem surprising in 2025. In any case, it debuted within the early 2000s and was supposed to be worn solely throughout — you guessed it! — Taekwondo practices. Reimagined in a girls’s-exclusive silhouette final summer season, the Adidas Taekwondo efficiently took on a brand new life, as a way of life sneaker regardless of its martial-arts influences. It was removed from alone in attaining this type of target-audience enlargement, joined by different Adidas gems à la the Adidas Gazelle, Samba, and Handball Spezial: all performance-oriented coaching footwear that ended up changing into wants and never desires amidst the style set.

The Adidas Taekwondo’s low-profile design falls proper in keeping with immediately’s retro sneaker development. It stands out from the gang, although, by way of its laceless, slip-on design (thoughts you, there are additionally laced editions up for grabs) and vary of finishes that contact on different present vogue developments. Proof of this latter side is the Taekwondo in “Silver Metallic,” honoring the Y2K period’s penchant for retro-futuristic, gleaming surfaces, in addition to the shoe’s satin pink model that feeds our collective obsession over the balletcore aesthetic.

On that observe, for actually embracing your interior dancer, there’s a quirkier model of the Adidas Taekwondo on the market: within the type of its extra female cousin, the Taekwondo Mei Ballet sneaker. Alas, this surprising Adidas arrival was so sizzling that it bought out in a flash and stays inaccessible for now. Much more hype-generating was Dangerous Bunny’s collab with Adidas this spring — working off of the Taekwondo mannequin to drop his elegantly sporty Dangerous Bunny Ballerina, accessible now solely by resale retailers. His take swaps Adidas’ traditional leather-based uppers for suede and canvas, paired with translucent gum soles and delicate, slipper-like elastic collars.

TikTok considers Adidas’ Taekwondo providing a godsend, with the app’s hundreds of thousands of devoted posts that includes unboxing hauls, styling movies, and opinions that corroborate its standing as the brand new Samba. The heritage sneaker has actually been reframed as a method assertion, with on-line creators invoking the viral “improper shoe” idea in eclectic sartorial mashups that encourage the nice type of double take when first laying eyes on the kicks. A fast scroll on TikTok gives a wealth of outfit inspiration, ripe for the taking — one consumer selected to match her metallic Taekwondos with a lace prime, black leather-based jacket, and pink purse for a bonus burst of texture in an already texture-rich ensemble, whereas one other took J Regulation’s black-and-white, laceless pair of option to extra inventive heights by means of a bubble skirt, sports activities jersey, and dainty jewellery.