@kendalljenner

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.

@kendalljenner

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.

@kendalljenner

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.