Reebok Classics
Encyclopedia
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
.
The Reebok Classic trainer was launched originally in 1987. They were usually made with a leather upper and have a clean, simple and straight forward design and are closely related to the Reebok Freestyle
Reebok Freestyle
Reebok Freestyle is a women's athletic shoe style that was introduced in 1982 and designed for aerobic exercise. It quickly surged Reebok into the mainstream athletic wear market and fashion scene along with becoming one of the most popular athletic shoes of all time. In 1984, the shoe accounted...
. They also feature a distinctive "combat boot-style" outsole.
Popular colourways include the pictured white leather upper with black stripe and the "all-over black version" (black leather uppers with black stripes).
Reebok Classics popularity
The Reebok Classic is an extremely popular brand-name shoe, especially in the UK with young people.The Fly humorously states on his blog:
"Reebok Classics - You cannot claim any Geezer status without these, must be gleaming white, gold stripes are best down to yellow or orange which are considered a bit pikey by the Geezer hierarchy"
A comment on the Ryan's Bar (Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) website refers to the Reebok Classic and the people who wear them in derogatory terms.
"craphole of a pub old stokey geezers stay upstairs with cheap elasticated jeans and cheap reebok classics" - Keirah http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/44/4424/Ryans_Bar/Stoke_Newington
British rapper Mike Skinner aka The Streets
The Streets
The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
is a spokesperson for the Classics line, as he favours white Reebok Workout Plus trainers. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-20175989-details/Streets+star+is+new+face+of+Reebok/article.do;jsessionid=7jnnGjxb8T3xNnfc9LtC8l2sbh7x121LQvYwnDWnDS1Y68nhnNHJ!823374612!-1407319225!7001!-1. On his song "Let's Push Things Forward" one of his lyrics refers to the shoes:
"Let's put on our Classics and have a little dance, shall we?"
Arctic Monkeys also highlight the popularity of Reebok Classics amongst the common British 'chav' in the opening line to their song, "A Certain Romance":
"Well oh they might wear classic Reeboks, or knackered Converse, or trackie-bottoms tucked in socks."
Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
refers to Reebok Classics in the Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
song, "Albion".
UK rappers The Mitchell Bros.
The Mitchell Brothers
The Mitchell Brothers are a Ghanaian British rap duo from London, England. They consist of cousins Owura Nyanin from Manor Park and Kofi Hanson from Stockwell...
argued that while Adidas Superstar
Adidas Superstar
The Superstar is a basketball shoe manufactured by athletic goods company Adidas since 1969, released as a low top version of the Pro Model basketball shoe...
s and Nike Air Force 1
Air Force 1 (shoe)
The Air Force 1 athletic shoe is a product of Nike, Inc. created by designer Bruce Kilgore. This was the first basketball shoe to use the Nike Air technology. This shoe is offered in low, mid and high top.-Overview:...
s dominate the American hip-hop scene, Reebok Classic is the preferred brand of Brit-Hoppers for its "Britishness." Also in their video SoleMate they are driving around London in pimped out Reebok Classic-Mobiles.
The shoes are also quite popular in the USA, especially in hip hop
Hip hop fashion
Hip hop fashion is a distinctive style of dress originating with African American youth on the scene of New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, St. Louis, Jersey City, Miami, Toronto and Vancouver among others. Each city...
circles, preferably the white-coloured versions. They were popularized by the rapper Soulja Slim
Soulja Slim
James Tapp, Jr. , better known by his stage name Soulja Slim, was an American rapper who achieved massive success on Master P's No Limit record label. He also achieved fame throughout New Orleans and Nation Wide from his work done with B.G., UNLV, and other local artists. He is known for writing...
. According to Hip-Hop Weekly: "Soulja's, as they were called, would become the most popular selling sneaker in New Orleans, and though he never had an endorsement deal with the company, he definitely contributed to an increase in their sales revenue, as virtually every youth in the city had a pair." The rapper Juvenile
Juvenile (rapper)
Terius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper, He is also a former member of hip-hop group the Hot Boys . At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1995...
continues the tradition, referring to the shoes colloquially as "Soljas" or "icy whites".
Lil Wyte sings about Reebok Classics in his song Icy White Soljas from Phinnally Phamous.