Back in 2016, a fresh-faced Kendall Jenner was just settling into her role as the newest face of Adidas Originals, trading Pepsi-ad fallout for golf cart Boomerangs and a wardrobe full of three stripes. Nearly a decade later, she has circled back to the exact shoe that defined that era, only this time she isn’t just wearing it for fun. The Superstar, the rubber-toed low-top that ruled 2016 the way the Samba rules right now, is back on Jenner’s feet, and the timing turns out to be no accident at all.
A Shoe With Actual Range
The Superstar has earned its comeback honestly. First released in 1969 as a basketball shoe, it built its identity on a rubber shell toe tough enough to survive a hardwood court, smooth leather everywhere else, and a trio of white stripes running down each side. That mix of durability and restraint made it the default off-duty sneaker for an entire generation of 2016’s it girls, worn on rotation by Gigi Hadid, Kylie Jenner, Kristen Stewart, and Hailey Bieber until the Samba eventually elbowed it out of the group chat. The shell toe and the slightly heavier sole are really the only things separating the two silhouettes, and 2025 already proved plenty of people remember that, with Taylor Swift or Tate McRae putting the shoe back into heavy rotation well before Jenner got involved.
The Ambassador Becomes the Archetype
Adidas Superstar II Sneakers, $ 100
What makes Jenner’s revival different is that she isn’t just reaching for an old favorite, she is now the actual face of it. Adidas tapped her this year to front its new Superstar campaign, shot inside a set called Hotel Superstar alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Jennie, Lamine Yamal, James Harden, and Olivia Dean, which makes her Instagram styling look less like nostalgia and more like a very on-brand victory lap. The pair she posted in is a straightforward black low-top, the same colorway she already owns in Sambas, styled the way she has been dressing all year, with barely-there micro shorts, cropped jackets, and the kind of quiet-luxury separates that make a hundred-dollar sneaker look considerably more expensive than it is. Nearly a decade into her run with the brand, Jenner has landed on the one styling trick that never actually goes out of style, wearing the thing you are paid to wear like you would have bought it anyway.
