Trainers or sneakers — whichever side of that cross-continental naming divide you come down on, athletics shoes have become such an integral part of everyday life worldwide that it’s hard to imagine a time before they existed. Comfort and practicality have made trainers indispensable and ubiquitous, but for some people they are much more than just something to put on your feet to play sport.
Converse Rubber Shoe Company.
All Star/Non Skid, 1917. Converse Archives.
(Photo: Courtesy American Federation of Arts)
Trainer design is a well-respected creative discipline, and also a way for artists to crossover into the commercial arena while remaining cool. This involvement of fashion designers and urban artists make designer sneakers hugely collectible. People travel to foreign countries and queue overnight for the release of new limited edition collaborations; think Adidas x Kanye and their Yeezy Boost, or designers and visual artists like Raf Simons; Rick Owens; Zaha Hadid; Karl Lagerfeld.
Hightops, shell toes, daps … the number of sub-genres that you can rattle off is a measure of how big a sneaker geek you are, and for those who know their Jordan’s from their Lebrons, The Rise of Sneaker Culture is an unmissable exhibition. Being held at the Brooklyn Museum, the show features 150 pairs ranging from important historical shoes, examples from the collections of fanatics including Darryl “Run DMC” McDaniels and guru Bobbito Garcia, and loans from the world-leading Bata Shoe Museum. There’s also film, photo material and design drawings that help illustrate how the world of sneakers has taken shape. Hot-foot it over to the Eastern Parkway museum before the closing date of 10 October.
Nike. Air Jordan I, 1985. Nike Archives.
(Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
Dominion Rubber Company. Fleet Foot, circa 1925.
Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto.
(Photo: Hal Roth. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
Louis Vuitton x Kanye West. Don, 2009.
Private Collection.
(Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
Nike. Air Jordan III, 1988.
Kosow Sneaker Museum (Electric Purple Chameleon, LLC).
(Photo: © Kathy Tarantola Photography. Courtesy American Federation of Arts)
Nike x Tom Sachs.
NikeCraft Lunar Underboot Aeroply Experimentation Research Boot Prototype, 2008–12.
Collection of the artist. (Photo: Courtesy American Federation of Arts)
Installation shots of The Rise of Sneaker Culture at The Brooklyn Museum
© Jonathan Dorado
Converse. Gripper, late 1940s-early 1950s.
Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto.
(Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
adidas x Run–DMC. 25th Anniversary Superstar, 2011.
Courtesy of Run–DMC, collection of Erik Blam.
(Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
Nike. Waffle Trainer, 1974.
Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, Northampton, UK.
(Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)
