'Tis the season for textural sneakers and Samba-like adidas soccer shoes.

And the "Core Black/Matte Gray" Handball Spezial sneaker is all of this wrapped up in one captivatingly demure package.

This simplistic sneaker has that famously slim Samba build with a black leather upper, contrasted with suede toe-paneling and a simple silver tone across the Three Stripes.

If the vibe of this sneaker feels familiar, this Handball Spezial sneaker, already available at select adidas stockists, occupies the same wheelhouse of intrigue as the mega-textured "Blue Trio" Handball Spezial and exists in the same stylish space as adidas' classic blacked-out Samba.

Now, Handball Spezial sneakers have been coming for Samba's rank as fashion's go-to super-skinny sneaker for a while now, and these textural iterations are one (of many) similarities that have been closing the gap between the Samba and the Handball Spezial.

See, where the Samba really shines is through exciting textiles that make the otherwise standard soccer sneaker pop.

This is best captured through a host of Wales Bonner Samba collabs, which include metallic and pony hair iterations. But now, the adidas Handball Spezial is proving that it can do texture too.

And despite benefiting heavily from the Samba's popularity, the Handball Spezial is evolving into quite the standalone sneaker with its own stylistic quirks.

Particularly the perforations that line the sole, a standout trait worn only by the Handball Spezial, which offer some slight but distinct variation in a sea of beautifully flat sneakers.

So yes, the sneaker is certainly reminiscent of mega-popular adidas silhouettes, but the Handball Spezial's own lane has never been clearer.