Chinese (Simplified) 
Chinese (Traditional) 
English 
French 
Alemão 
Italian 
Japanese 
Norwegian 
Spanish 
5 min read
108 comments
Nostalgia for classic Brazilian sneakers is reinvented with a new look at Alpargatas icons, uniting the past and new fashion trends with a touch of authenticity and history.
Long before international brands dominated the national market, brands such as Kichute, Bamba, Montreal and Rainha marked the steps of a generation in the 1980s.
These shoes, produced by Brazilian companies, conquered the feet and hearts of young people in a period when vibrant colors, boldness and authenticity were symbols of status and identity.
With the advancement of major foreign brands from the 1990s onwards, many of these national manufacturers lost ground.
-
The Gambia is the smallest country on the African continent, stretching for about 450 km along the Gambia River, totaling an area of approximately 11.300 km².
-
The colors red, yellow and green on traffic lights were not chosen by chance.
-
Man fined for scratching head while driving after AI camera mistakes gesture for cell phone use
-
The day Steve Jobs' secretary arrived late and received a jaguar as a gift, but with a warning: "Here, so you'll never be late again"
Buy
However, a growing nostalgic movement in recent years has rekindled interest in these classic models, and some brands even attempted a comeback. Find out below what happened to each of these iconic brands.
Kichute: symbol of soccer games on the field
Kichute became a true icon among Brazilian boys in the 1970s and 1980s, especially football fans.
Manufactured by Alpargatas, the model was launched in 1970, in the wake of the third world championship won by the Brazilian team.
With a rubber sole and laces that went up to the ankle, the Kichute was ideal for playing on clay courts.
At its peak, the model sold more than 9 million pairs per year, becoming one of Alpargatas' most profitable footwear products.
However, From the 1990s onwards, the massive arrival of imported sneakers and the change in consumer habits decreed its decline.
In 2022, the Alexandria Group announced the brand's return with a focus on digital, without physical points of sale. The project promised to relaunch the shoes in 2023, but by May 2025, the promised models have not yet reached the market, generating frustration among nostalgic people.
Conga: the basic shoe that became a trend
Launched in 1959, also by Alpargatas, Conga was an immediate success in the 1960s and became a craze among young people in the 1970s and 1980s.
With a simple and versatile design, it has become a constant presence in Brazilian schools and streets.
It was common to see children and teenagers using the model in sports activities and in everyday life.
In the early 1990s, the brand was discontinued, affected by strong international competition.
Today, Conga no longer exists as a brand, but its classic style lives on through companies such as Arezzo, Anacapri and Mr. Cat., which focus on modern reinterpretations of the model.
Bamba: All Star's Brazilian cousin
Another great success for Alpargatas was the Bamba, launched shortly after the Conga.
Inspired by the classic All Star, the Bamba presented a similar proposal, with colored canvas and rubber sole, being accessible and stylish.
In the 1980s, tennis became synonymous with urban youth.
However, Like the Conga, the Bamba was withdrawn from the market in the early 1990s., harmed by the increase in national production of foreign brands, which now have more competitive prices.
The model resurfaced in the 2000s, riding the retro wave, with revamped versions and new colors.
In 2022, the same company that tested the return of Kichute also promised to relaunch Bamba, but, Just like the Kichute project, the new products have not yet been made available.
Queen: from luxury to sport
Founded in 1934 by Saad & Cia, Rainha began using autoclave technology — an advanced process for the time — to manufacture its shoes.
However, The brand's leap to stardom occurred in 1978, after its acquisition by Alpargatas, which repositioned Rainha as a wide-reaching sports brand.
During the 1980s, the brand stood out by sponsoring the Pirelli team, becoming a symbol of Brazilian volleyball.
The Queen was a pioneer in uniting sports and marketing strategically in Brazil, which helped to strengthen its name among consumers.
In 2015, the brand was acquired by BR Sports, controlled by Grupo Sforza, owned by businessman Carlos Wizard Martins — also responsible for Topper.
Today, Rainha maintains operations with e-commerce and physical stores in states such as São Paulo and Minas Gerais, with products aimed at both the nostalgic public and new consumers looking for affordable models.
Montreal: the darling of Sunday in the Park
Montreal rose to prominence not so much for its design or innovation, but for its strong presence on television.
In the 1980s, tennis became famous thanks to its participation in segments on the program “Domingo no Parque”, presented by Silvio Santos. Children participated in games where they could exchange prizes for a pair of the much-desired “Montreal Tennis Shoes”.
Although it was not manufactured by Alpargatas, the brand managed to stand out and consolidate its name in the popular imagination.
Over the years, the company was sold and began operating in Nova Serrana (MG), an important hub for the footwear industry in Brazil.
However, Since 2015, there have been no relevant updates about the brand on its social networks, and the official website was taken offline.
The digital absence reinforces the idea that Montreal has failed to keep up with the modernization and digitalization of the sector.
The retro wave that rekindles affective memories
The return of these brands, even if timid or symbolic, is not by chance.
In recent years, the fashion market has invested heavily in nostalgia, bringing back products that hark back to the 1980s and 1990s.
This strategy targets both consumers who lived through that era and younger consumers who see these items as having an authentic, “vintage” style.
Classic models of Kichute, Bamba and Conga, for example, are often seen in thrift stores, collectors' groups or in customized versions by independent designers.
At the same time, the presence of these brands in digital conversations, such as forums and social networks, indicates a renewed interest in products with history and national identity.
In the current scenario, marked by a search for authenticity, the rescue of these sneakers goes beyond aesthetics: it is a symbolic return to simpler times, to football in the street, to school with uniforms, to the unfiltered style of past generations.
And you, if you could relive the 1980s with one of these sneakers on your feet, which model would you choose to go out in retro style?
Without a doubt, not all models but the Bamba would be my choice.
The current Bamba models are beautiful, look for the official store on the Internet. There is a physical store in São Paulo.
Bamba is back, has a physical store open in the city of São Paulo….
M2000 has many beautiful sneakers… they have an official store…
I used all of them in the 70s. The only good one was Rainha, the best tennis shoe in the country by far. The others were crap that were of no use at all.
My friend, you never used a kick kit. The Queen and Topper were in fact very good, but the kick kit was the Beetle of the moment. It was useful for all hours of school. Day to day, playing football was the guy without a doubt.
Kichute was really good, strong, he was **** for everything, very excellent for playing football, better than the boot, he had a very good grip on the grass, if our player used Kichute he wouldn't live lying on the ground
True. My 3 children used them a lot. One of my daughters only took her boots off when she went to sleep, lol.
I agree, nostalgia is cool, but the best ones were Topper and Queen, at the time I didn't have them because I was very poor.
What's up friend... I respect your comment... another model that sold 9 million pairs a year (Kichute)... can't be called ****... I remember the happiness of winning a new Kichute 😍🇧🇷🙏
And it had a really nice rubber smell when it was new, then it turned into a **** of stinking... lol