by Given the utter derision of his latest choice of coach, one of our super-rich Prime Ministers could be pitied. For anyone wondering if the much-worn adidas Samba had peaked, that quick shot of the Tory leader in his white and black pair gave a knowing nod: Yes, it’s over. The man has even apologized.
Just months ago Vogue’s new girl, Chioma Nnadi, was famous for the moniker “The devil wears Sambas”, her favorite shoe choice as she was highlighted as Condé Nast’s hot new catch. A fashion cycle has never felt so brutally sharp. Diplomatically, when questioned on Women’s Hour about her shared sneaker choice with the PM, Nnadi offered the following: “It’s not about who’s wearing it, it’s about how you’re wearing it it. Sambas are classics, I don’t think they’re out of date.”
Sunak has form when he unwittingly wades into fashionable waters. From the city boy cropped trousers and Prada loafers to the extraordinary Palm Angels slides, not forgetting his pandemic gray cashmere hoodie (over a shirt and tie), his range is a definite kryptonite trend touch. Sambas weren’t even the first sports shoe he put on. His £335 Common Projects shoes were a big hit for the white trainer, along with his colleagues Liz Truss (in Reiss) and Matt Hancock (in Vejas, shudder), which was an easy win for the style set.
Viral hate levels may be a useful indicator of popularity levels. Keir Starmer is also an Adidas fan, although he doesn’t appear in Samba but there wasn’t as much horror when he got out in them as Sunak was. SW1 really is the best place to have a serious lie.
Dressing for Downing Street is admittedly a thankless task constrained by Britain’s view of fashion, where spending on style is seen as a moral failing. Recall the hysteria surrounding Theresa May’s £995 Amanda Wakeley leather trousers which she wore in a magazine segment that prompted a very incessant snarl from Nicky Morgan. The former education minister said: “How am I going to explain this in Loughborough market?” and was promptly banned from No.10. Karma came for Morgan in the shape of her own (£950) Mulberry Bayswater, which was used to replace her when she pulled out of Have I Got News For You. It was a real handbag, in the Thatcher tradition.
May has always had an aspirational plate style. During her tenure she was a constant point of reference for those of us on the front line of the fashion beat. There was a certain period when no leopard print could be mentioned without at least an odd ribald remark towards its kitten heels; or indeed his penchant for a power necklace. We ditched those for serial stacks of individual chains instead, obvs.
David Cameron contributed to his off-duty dad joke and helped bring middle-class sarcasm to fans of £225 Orlebar Brown-printed swimming shorts (also worn by Tony Blair) as well as Converse All Stars. Jeremy Corbyn may have been influenced by Wilson’s retro shell suit on Kingsland Road but his own councilors banned him from wearing it in public. All attempts seem to fail to match the trend cycle. Are you still inspired by William Hague’s self-made baseball cap? Does irony make a noise when it dies?
Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband thought they would be celebrated for wearing the slogan This is What a Feminist Looks Like T-shirt, but sadly it has emerged that factory workers were allegedly being paid 62p an hour to produce tops (which was refused. by the charity behind them), they were left looking clearly out of the key. As was Gillian Keegan, who was seen wearing a £10,000 Rolex after telling teachers to be honest with their pay demands. Let them wear Swatch!
Although American politicians tend to have a more precise finish, at Donald Trump’s inauguration Kellyanne Conway threatened to end Alessandro Michele’s bright Gucci make-up when she wore a coat to reveal his British collection at a show in Westminster Abbey. Likewise I’m not sure any of us could ever look at a claw blouse the same way again after Melania wore a hot pink iteration at her husband’s second “grab-em-by-the-pussy” presidential debate post.
Across the political spectrum, Barack Obama’s denim choices were recently used as a barometer of the unredeemed in a New York Times essay on trouser width au courant – if Obama says narrow leg, then the trendsetters go wide, and vice versa. Bring your political way home? They could make the rules, but they don’t stay within their red style lines.
