You can now buy Billie Jean King’s famous blue suede shoes from Battle of the Sexes
Billie Jean King had to fight to wear blue suede shoes during her famous 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match that she won against Bobby Riggs. Now Adidas has turned the silhouette into a lifestyle shoe. Some 90 million people around the world watched King defeat Riggs at that year’s match at Houston’s Astrodome. “I underestimated you,” Riggs told King after she beat him. While Riggs wore a “Sugar…
Billie Jean King's iconic blue suede shoes from the 1973 Battle of the Sexes match can now be purchased by fans as a lifestyle shoe, thanks to Adidas. The match, held at Houston's Astrodome, saw King defeat Bobby Riggs in front of 90 million global viewers. King, who wore a mint dress and the iconic blue suede Adidas shoes of her own choosing, quipped to Riggs, "I underestimated you."
Adidas has reimagined the famous shoe, known as the Billie Jean King Shoe, for the first time as a lifestyle shoe, priced at $110. The shoes feature King's signature on the tongue and the match's set scores on the back, available in blue or off-white. Speaking to Fast Company, an Adidas spokesperson explained that the goal was to preserve King's original look while adapting the shoe for today's lifestyle footwear.
King, who donated her original pair to the Center for Women's History in 2016, expressed that the shoes symbolize both the progress made and the work still ahead in the fight for equality. She hopes the return of the iconic shoes will inspire the next generation to continue advocating for positive change. Adidas has previously released a limited-edition blue-and-white version of the shoe in 2018 and organized an activation at the U.S. Open to promote their Here to Create Change campaign.
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