Sneakers, or trainers have come a long way since their beginnings in the nineteenth-century. Starting out as a more flexible alternative to leather shoes for elite men and women playing tennis or croquet, in WWI, the large-scale movement towards physical fitness transformed sneakers from the choice recreational footwear of the wealthy to widely-available and affordable sportswear. Though which shoes were formative in making trainers what they are today? Darcy Hill charts the rise of five key styles.
Chuck Taylor All Star
As WWI ushered in a wave of sports and gym memberships, the US Converse Rubber Shoe Company wanted to set itself apart from its competitors. With the help of basketball player Chuck Taylor, the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star was born in 1921. With its distinct rubber sole and canvas high top with the iconic patch sewn into the side, the shoe became the first celebrity-endorsed sneakers.
This move was critical in selling the shoe’s authenticity and potential performance as an athletic shoe. Following its success as an athlete’s shoe, the All Star soon became eponymous with rebellion and street culture through icons such as James Dean, Sid Vicious, The Ramones, and Kurt Cobain.
Nike Cortez
The Cortez was Nike’s attempt to make a shoe that would be a hit with the youth of the ‘70s: visible swoosh in a myriad of colors, sure to turn heads both on the dance floor and on the running track. As one of Nike’s longest-standing sneakers, the Cortez has a rich history—from being sported by pop culture figures like Forrest Gump and George Costanza to fashion icons like Farrah Fawcett.
Most notably, the Cortez became a symbol of LA street culture, and even darker, of gang culture in the ‘80s and ‘90s. This dangerous association led to a dip in the shoes’ popularity, but it is now seeing a resurgence. Rapper Kendrick Lamar left his endorsement deal with Reebok to sign with Nike, following his declaration back in 2013 to only wear Cortezes, which was a nod to the shoe’s history with the rapper’s experience of LA culture growing up.
Air Jordan 1s
In 1984, Nike took a risk and signed then-rookie basketball player Michael Jordan to a five-year endorsement deal for an exclusive shoe: the Air Jordan. Despite being issued a ban by the NBA for not conforming to league rules of majority-white sneakers only, Jordan continued to wear the iconic red-and-black high-top shoes, paying the $5000 fine after each game.
Combined with Nike’s own ads for the shoe proudly stating, “The NBA can’t keep you from wearing them,” the sneakers soon became a symbol of sticking it to The Man. The Air Jordan 1s are often cited as the instigators of modern sneaker culture—creating a community of collectors and admirers dedicated to following sneaker releases, with an obsession and passion once reserved for more high-end goods like sports cars and European watches.
Adidas Superstar
The Adidas Superstar, released in the ‘80s, became the mainstream market’s primary exposure to early rap culture and street style. With the growing debate over sneakers and their ties to criminal behavior, Rap-DJ trio Run-DMC’s iconic signature style—chunky chains, Adidas tracksuits, and matching shell-toe Adidas Superstars—received criticism for wearing their Superstars without laces like “felon shoes.”
The group’s answer to this was their 1986 song “My Adidas,” rapping “I wore my sneakers, but I’m not a sneak.” An endorsement deal solidified the connection, making Run-DMC the first non-athlete endorsers of the brand and pioneers of future collaborations of sneaker brands with musicians.
Yeezys
Kanye West has long been a major force in music, later on extending his influence into the world of street fashion and shoes. Grabbing attention with his 2009 collaboration with luxury brand Louis Vuitton, the Louis Vuitton Dons would lead to his collaborations with Nike for the first iterations of the Yeezy.
Talking about the inspiration behind his shoes, West said “There’s a little bit of Lamborghini in everything I do,” West says. “Yeezy is the Lamborghini of shoes.” While Kanye’s partnership with Nike turned sour, ending with the rapper’s exit over alleged unpaid royalties, the Yeezy continues to live on in their newest forms under the brand Adidas.
Thanks to West’s obsession with detail and willingness to experiment with shapes, textures, forms, and materials to pursue his vision, each Yeezy has become its own stand-out statement, leaving little doubt as to how the line is looking at $1.5 billion in sales by the end of 2019.