Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has received a “kicking” online after donning a pair of Adidas Sambas in a recent social media post.

Now fans of the “shoe of the moment” have said they will be putting them back in the box as experts warn it could be a “death knell” to the iconic trainer.

Introduced in 1949, the Adidas Samba has seen a recent surge in popularity, with some fashion experts branding it the “defining sneaker of our age,” reports The Times.

The shoe has been spotted on everyone from Rihanna to Kate Moss and Kendall Jenner. The Evening Standard even once claimed you could not go “10 feet in London without seeing a pair”.

Last year Adidas chief executive Bjorn Gulden declared them the “hottest shoe on the market” and that the company intended to sell “millions and millions’’.

The shoe has however been trending on social media after Sunak wore a pair in a Downing Street interview shared on Instagram. It was designed to promote his tax policies.

Social media users were quick to comment on Sunak’s choice of shoes. One person on X wrote: “Rishi Sunak’s wearing Sambas, the moment’s passed.”

While another said: “Sold my Sambas on Vinted few months ago & always regretted it until I just saw a pic of Rishi Sunak wearing some.”

Footwear historian Elizabeth Semmelhack told The Times that Sunak could have dealt a “death knell” to the shoe. She says the PM had “attempted to tap into what is a widespread fashion ­moment” but had done so “in a way that lacks authenticity”.

She said: “Products are created by a company and then they go out into the world. How we as consumers use them is beyond the control of the company.

“And so we have this moment where the Samba has sort of taken over the world and now this one misstep could be the death knell for it.”

Fashion consultant Dal Chodha mealwhile thinks the PM could have “pushed” the Samba “back into the box for a while”.