After Sunak’s Sambas slip-up, will Starmer shoot Gazelles in the foot?

Sir Keir Starmer has been pictured sporting a pair of Adidas Gazelle trainers weeks after Rishi Sunak was mocked for his own choice of trendy footwear.

The Labour leader was spotted wearing the shoes, which sell for about £90, on the campaign trail on Tuesday.

He was pounding the streets with Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, and David Skaith, the Labour candidate for the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election.

It comes after Mr Sunak was accused of sounding the death knell for Sambas, another popular Adidas trainer, by donning the shoes for an interview in Downing Street.

It is not the first time Sir Keir has been pictured in his Gazelles. Asked about his choice of footwear in a recent interview with the Metro at St George’s Park, the FA’s headquarters, he insisted the shoes were not “Sunak-style”.

He said he picked the trainers for the visit because “you will see no end of politicians in suit and tie walking onto a football pitch and trying to play football with ordinary shoes on – it doesn’t work”.

He added: “So I thought if I’m coming to the training ground, I’m going to wear something I can actually kick a ball with.”

The footage of Mr Sunak in his Sambas sparked a backlash from fans, even prompting British GQ magazine to publish an article: “Can Rishi Sunak leave the Adidas Samba alone, please?”

The men’s magazine said the Prime Minister “took an eternally cool sneaker, and ruined it for everyone” and issued a plea to future prime ministers to “stay away from our sneakers”.

Mr Sunak ended up apologising to the “Samba community”, while insisting he had been a “long-time devotee” of Adidas trainers.

He told LBC Radio: “I issue a fulsome apology to the Samba community. But, in my defence, I would say I have been wearing Adidas trainers including Sambas – and others, in fact – for many, many years.

“The first pair my brother got for me many, many years ago – my first pair of fun Adidas trainers as a Christmas present. I haven’t looked back since. So I’ve been a long-time devotee.”

The Prime Minister is no stranger to controversy over his sartorial choices, in particular regarding his suits and the length of his trousers.

When recently questioned about why his trousers were “so short”, Mr Sunak told The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots show: “I don’t think they are that short, actually.”

He added: “I tend not to like lots of baggy, baggy stuff at the bottom of my ankle. I don’t think they are that short.”

Mr Sunak also caused a stir when pictured wearing Palm Angels sliders in 2021, which cost about £95.