Molly-Mae Adidas Samba Slate goes on sale after criticism of first drop

Molly-Mae Hague's second Adidas collaboration, a limited-edition grey trainer called the Molly-Mae Samba Slate, goes on general sale on Friday, 23 October 2026, through the Adidas website and selected retailers in the UK. Adidas Originals opened early access in its app from 11 am on Thursday, 22 October, together with a raffle. The new shoe arrives six months after the first Molly-Mae Adidas drop, which some fans criticised online as unoriginal. On the same day, that first pair, the Samba "Matcha" and the Superstar "Latte", is released in the United States.

People searching "Molly Mae Adidas" this week want to know what the new shoe looks like, what it costs and when it goes on sale. The answer is a quieter design than the first drop. The first collection used soft colourways named Matcha and Latte. The Samba Slate moves to a muted grey palette intended for autumn and winter, while keeping the double laces and gum sole that marked the first pair. Coverage of the release has described it as an understated, neutral trainer.

The story also shows how fashion now works as a business. Sportswear brands have long signed athletes and musicians. Adidas has gone further in recent years with collaborations that put a creator's name on a limited run of an existing classic shoe. A creator collaboration lets the brand reach that person's audience directly, while the limited numbers, app raffles and early-access windows create a sense of urgency around each drop.

For Hague, the second drop is a sign that the partnership has lasted beyond its first test. She first became widely known through the reality show Love Island and has since built a business career, including her own clothing label, Maebe. That label faced criticism from buyers after its debut collection, when some complained that items bobbled soon after purchase, and she later responded to the complaints publicly. Her first Adidas pair drew a different kind of criticism: some fans said the colours were too plain or too similar to existing Sambas. Adidas has nonetheless returned for a second edition and is taking the first pair to the US market.

For readers interested in fashion as enterprise, including in India, where global sneaker drops are followed closely online, the lesson is that a creator's value to a brand now lies as much in audience trust as in design. Each drop is judged in public within hours, and repeated criticism can affect both the creator's own label and the brand partner. A partnership that survives that scrutiny, and expands to a new market, suggests the sales case is strong enough for the brand to continue.

Short-term: The Samba Slate is a limited edition, so buyers in the UK who want a pair at the retail price will need to use the app, the raffle or the listed retailers quickly. In the US, fans who could not buy the first pair at launch now have a direct route through Adidas and selected stores.

Long-term: If the Slate sells well, it strengthens the case for brands to sign long-running creator partnerships rather than one-off drops. If it does not, the criticism of the first collection will weigh on the deal's future.

Who is affected: Sneaker buyers in the UK and US, Adidas and the retailers carrying the shoe, Hague's own business, and other creators and fashion entrepreneurs who watch these deals as a model for brand partnerships.

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