Sneaker Culture
Shoes are a way for a lot of people to express themselves and their style. Sneakers started off as functional protection for your feet and athletic footwear for people to wear, but they soon became a fashion statement, and shoes like Jordan 1s started being used to put together stylish outfits instead of being worn solely on the basketball court.
The sneaker culture is mainly rooted in sports and hip-hop. Micheal Jordan played a huge role with his signature shoes he wore on the basketball court;Air Jordan 1s first came out in April of 1985, within six weeks there were about 1.5 million pairs sold. This shoe model was just the start of the growth of a stylish, historic, and legendary shoe. Jordan has a total of 40 shoe models, with his most popular being the Chicago and Bred Air Jordan 1. You can read more about all of his shoes here.
Artists like Missy Elliott, Travis Scott, Jay-Z, and Janet Jackson are examples of many people who have had a huge impact on the sneaker culture. They all collect and continue to expand their wide variety of shoes by wearing shoes that haven’t been seen before, and making them more popular. Travis Scott is known for his signature shoes that he created and partnership with Air Jordan. His most popular shoes are the Air Jordan 1 High Mocha that first came out in 2019. This shoe blew up, and it was really credited and recognized for its unique look with the reverse Nike logo.
Like Travis Scott, Janet Jackson is a huge part of the sneaker community and style. She isn’t someone that just wore Nike and Air Jordan like many people, but she also repped Adidas wrestling shoes. This was first seen in her “The Pleasure Principal” music video where she danced in them. In a video with Complex, she said, “It was about comfort for me.” Comfort was the most important to Janet whenever she wore shoes, which is what made her fall in love with the Nike Cortez shoes. In a video with Complex where she went shoe shopping, she expanded her shoe collection after she bought nine new pairs of sneakers with a total price of $2,000.
Shoes are a really popular thing on social media. One of the main shoe stores that blew up all across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch is called Cool Kicks. This store is located in Los Angeles, California and is run by influencers who trade and sell shoes. On YouTube, they make videos where they let celebrities and other social media influencers come in and shop. According to their website the founders of the store believe “sneakers are more than foot wear - they are a form of expression, a piece of culture, and a connection to something larger.” Cool Kicks was built originally for shoe collectors who look for the rarest and most popular shoes on the market. It all started as a passion project as the owner focused on cleaning and reselling Jordans, but it wasn't planned to become a business. Overall, this store has grown to be a big deal in the shoe business and continues to make an impact on social media.
Sneaker Con is one of, if not the biggest, sneaker show in the world. It was first launched in August of 2008 by founders Alan Vinogradov, Barris Vinogradov, and Yu-Ming Wu. Their goal was to make a safe space for the sneaker head community to engage with each other. It eventually expanded out internationally, after hosting an event in London in December of 2014. Sneaker Con is a place for people to trade, buy, authenticate, and show off their shoes to the public. It’s become a big event and continues to grow its attendance levels and expand into more cities.
The Sneaker Culture continues to grow as more people continue to buy and sell. Even different brands are starting to expand and make comfortable and stylish shoes. New Balance and Asics are strong examples of brands that made a comeback in the shoe industry. The future of sneakers is shaped by fashion, social media, and sports. Most may see shoes as just things that help protect our feet, but they help people express themselves, connect with others, send fashion statements, and be creative.