The Superstar is a basketball shoe manufactured by athletic goods company Adidas since 1969, and it was released as a low top version of the Pro Model basketball shoe.[1] Nicknamed the "shelltoe", "shell shoes", and "shell tops" for their rubber shell toe piece, their iconic design is known as one of the major influences in the sneaker culture. In 1983, from Hollis Queens, NY, came Run-D.M.C., a rap group that refused to conform to pop standards by deciding that they would dress on stage the way they dressed on the streets. The trio was most notable for wearing the Superstars without any laces and pushing the tongue of the shoe out, imitating the fashion inside a prison.
The Superstar received a lot of promotion from the rap group as they went out on tours across the US, increasing adidas' sales on the Superstar shoe. Responding to an anti-sneaker rap song by Jerrald Deas called "Felon Sneakers", the trio released a song of their own called "My Adidas" in 1986.[3] The song paid tribute to the Superstar shoe, and attempted to flip the stereotype of the 'b-boy'. Many years later, Adidas eventually signed an advertising deal with the group for 1 million dollars after realising how much promotion their product received from the trio. The deal made between Run-D.M.C. and Adidas was the first endorsement deal between hip-hop artists and a major corporation, and a Run-D.M.C. endorsed line of clothing from Adidas was subsequently released.[3] The Superstar shoe has become part of popular youth fashion culture and are now worn regularly as casual footwear, rather than for sports.
The Superstars, like the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, easily made the transition from the basketball court to street as it was sported by hip-hop aficionados. In the late 1980s, 'b-boys' wore the shoes with extra thick laces called "fat laces", usually matching the color of the laces with the color of the three stripes on their shoe.
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