Get Familiar: Stan Smith is More Than a Shoe

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In the pantheon of iconic shoes, Adidas Stan Smiths are the unassuming ne plus ultra. The classic trainers have been widely beloved for decades, particularly worshipped by fashion people for their clean, minimal lines (Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons are noted devotees). But what of the man behind the sneaker? The titular Stan Smith, former world number one tennis player, is often forgotten—a fact cheekily referenced by Smith himself in a new book from Rizzoli called Stan Smith: Some People Think I’m a Shoe.

The title is a playful nod to a conversation the now 71-year-old tennis titan once had with his son Trevor. “When he was about 8, he finally figured out that the shoe was something unique,” Smith says, recalling an incident when Trevor asked whether his father was named after the shoe, or the shoe after him. “I am not sure if it was so innocent or if he was being a bit of a wise guy (I think the latter), but he did ask the question. I gave him some grief about that comment.”

There is no bigger fan of the Stan Smith than Stan Smith. “When the shoe came out with my photo on the tongue, I kept looking at it during my matches and it was distracting, humbling, and exhilarating,” he says. Smith maintains a personal cache of about 60 versions stored in two different closets: one for regular wear, one for sentimental gems, like a black and maroon suede pair customized in Hong Kong 10 years ago (“as close as I could get to my school USC colors”). “I wish that I had kept the shoes from the early days but I had no idea that they would be around for so long and have the legacy that was created,” he adds.

Out now, the 336-page tome is a visual celebration of that legacy, filled with Smith’s personal recollections of his life and storied career and the shoe that bears his name, as seen throughout history in 200 photographs. There is a shot of Yoko Ono and John Lennon perched on a love seat, the latter wearing black Smiths with single cuffed jeans; flip forward and you’ll find a Snowdon-lensed portrait of David Bowie, sockless in chinos, a peach button-up, and yellow tie on a dilapidated white park bench.

Sprinkled in among the anecdotes and archival images are modern day testaments to the shoe’s enduring power, starting with a forward from Pharrell. “I have a personal connection with the Stan Smith, as it is fair to say that for ten years, from my teens well into my 20s, I didn’t wear any other shoes—only Stan Smiths,” Raf Simons writes. There are quotes from photographer Petra Collins, Colette’s Sarah Andelman, and a selection of snapshots from Daniel Arnold, who set out to capture them in the wild.

Smith’s favorite Smiths cameos go as follows: on the dancing feet of Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1985’s White Nights, and a slew of candids of John Lennon. “It was neat to see him in photos looking very comfortable in them,” he says. More recently, Smith happily met with Ranveer Singh in Mumbai, a top Bollywood star who wore the trainers in Bekikre. “In the film his character transitioned from a nerd to a cool guy who wins the girls heart when he starts wearing my shoes,” Smith says.

Then, of course, there are more humbling encounters. “Last year, I was in Paris waiting in line for a restaurant and three of the four teenage boys near us were wearing my shoe,” Smith recalls. “My friend asked them if they knew who Stan Smith was and in fact I was him. They said no way and talked among themselves. They went away disbelieving. They must have done some homework and were convinced that I was the real thing because after dinner when I was leaving they asked me to sign their shoes.”

For any other non-believers, Smith will attend book signings in four fashion capitals through the end of September: the Adidas flagships in New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Ask nicely and he might sign your Smiths, too.

Stan Smith: Some People Think I’m a Shoe (Rizzoli New York), $55; available in stores and online