How Sneaker Culture Conquered the World
It seems a long way from a training shoe created in 1917 to the gaudy and much-coveted street-wear of today, but a new book demonstrates the long and lucrative history of the sneaker--and the sportsmen who became the brands' ambassadors.
They wait in long lines in the bitter cold. They squeal with delight over the stitch on the shoes or the faux snakeskin upper. Colors more likely to be seen during Carnival in Rio than on any self-conscious American are hits. Catty quips about style choices are met with irrational exuberance over over-hyped new designs.
Old red converse
No, these aren’t the insufferable Carrie wannabes taking up New York’s sidewalks—they are teenage boys and grown men all over the world going on about basketball sneakers.
In terms of American contributions to global style and comfort, the basketball sneaker has to rank up there with the T-shirt and riveted jeans. And as can be seen in any mall or casual glance around the subway, the sneakers left the court long ago.
Today, sneakers are a hugely lucrative juggernaut. In 2012, for instance, Nike’s line of LeBron James sneakers generated $300 million—in the U.S alone. Apparently everybody still wants to be like Mike—so much so that kids get shot over pairs of his namesake sneakers. And the footwear’s infiltration of the fashion world is pretty much complete.
With the All Stars, Osborne also introduces the two significant themes that underpin not only his book, but the wearing of basketball sneakers to the present day.
The first is the move to assign the naming of shoes to a specific, recognizable person. In this earliest case it was Chuck Taylor in 1921, four years after the shoes were released, who played for the brand’s semi-pro All Star team. Taylor offered his two cents for some changes to the shoe, and in turn Converse named the shoes for him, and placed his now iconic signature on the side.
This trend may seem unsurprising to us today, accustomed as we are to celebrity branding for everything from perfumes, to impotence medication, to food. But more than almost any other consumer durable, the success of a basketball shoe is commensurate to the star wattage of who is wearing the kicks. Part of this is unique to basketball. Soccer may be the biggest sport in the world, but even if you idolize Ronaldo, you can’t exactly wear his cleats to class or the club. On the other hand, in basketball you can not only wear what your idol is wearing—you can look good in them.