The Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoe was originally called the Adidas Haillet.
Adidas created the shoe in 1964 for French tennis player Robert Haillet. After Haillet retired, Adidas began working with American tennis champion Stan Smith, and the shoe was eventually renamed for him in 1978.
The change was gradual rather than an entirely new shoe design. Early pairs carried imagery and branding associated with both Haillet and Smith, which is why collectors sometimes distinguish early Haillet-era versions from later Stan Smith releases.
The Stan Smith became one of Adidas’s most recognizable lifestyle sneakers, especially after tennis performance became secondary to everyday fashion. It is often confused with the Adidas Rod Laver, another Adidas tennis model named after a famous player, but the Haillet name specifically belongs to the predecessor of the Stan Smith.