the Brands

Who Invented Sneakers and When Were They

Invented?

The history of Sneakers is a long and interesting story. In

the late 18th century poorer people wore rubber soled

shoes, named plimsolls, which were made without a left or

right foot (comfortable, right?). However, the U.S. Rubber

Company produced a canvas topped shoe, called Keds,

which are widely regarded as the first ever mass produced

sneaker.

 




Best Basketball Shoes of All Time

Now this really comes down to personal preference but

NBA sneakers are some of the coolest looking sneakers

of all time. Our personal favourites include:

  
   1) Nike Air Max - Penny Hardaway

 



   2) Nike LeBron XI - Le Bron James


   3) Reebok Shaqnosis - Shaquille O' Neal

 

Gym Shoes

Gym shoes, or running shoes, have gone through a huge

evolution themselves over the years. What started as a

dress shoe with cleats developed into a canvas shoe with

rubber soles and then later, leather shoes with more

bounce in the sole.

More recent innovations include FlyKnit uppers, Boost

Technology, sock-like uppers and even Vibram 5 finger

sneakers that your toes slip into. Gym shoes are most

commonly seen in vibrant colourways nowadays and

have bridged the gap even more between performance

and fashion.


 

 


Nike Flyknit

 

 

When Were Converse Made?

Converse were first founded in 1908 by Marquis

Mills in Malden, Massachusetts. The most famous

of their collections, the All Star, was created in 1917

and would become one of the most famous shoes in

the world when they sponsored Chuck Taylor, the

prolific basketball player from that era. Whether

Converse tennis shoes even exist is a debatable subject.

However, the low top versions of the All Stars are the

closest you’ll get to a sneaker that looks like the likes of

Stan Smiths, Common Projects or Fred Perry tennis shoes.

 



Best Shoes Ever Made

Another highly contentious statement but for this you have

to include the pairs that have innovated new ways of approaching

how to make sneakers. Chuck Taylors, Keds Canvas Shoes,

adidas Gazelles, adidas Boost Ultras, NikeDunks, Air Force 1s,

Air Jordans, Reebok Classics and ASICS Gel Lyte III all make

our list.

 


Adidas Gazzele

Nike Airforce 1

Reebok Classics

Sneaker Collaborations and the Future

The collaborations that have caused the biggest storms in recent

years include Nike x Supreme, Nike Lab x Olivier Rousteing,

Jordan x OVO, Jordan x Don C and Yeezy x adidas. Rihanna

pairing up with Puma for further colourways of the Creeper made

some big waves in the women’s market whilst the Solebox and

Nike Kicks collabs with adidas Consortium caused many a head

to turn. The Concepts x New Balance City Pack celebrated the

age old rivalry of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees

as the pretty surprising Ronnie Fieg x ASICS Gel-Lyte 3.1

designs enjoyed their very own launch party.


 

 


Yeezy 350
( Yeezy x Adidas )

 

 

 

First Pair of Nike Shoes

The first Nike shoe to be made is actually unclear as two people,

Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman’s athletics student; Otis Davis,

both claim the first Nike shoe was made for them. What is for

sure is that the first shoe Nike ever made was designed with the

“Waffle Tread” which Bowerman created using his wife’s waffle

iron.

 



First Athletic Shoes

You could argue that Keds were the first athletic shoe but to get

a pair that look closer to what we now know as track and athletic

shoes, we have Etonic to thank. In the 1960s they created the

Trackster - this was the first ever running shoe to be mass produc

-ed using rippled soles and with the aesthetic we now recognise

as an athletic and track shoe.

 



What are sneakers?

Sneakers are technically the less practical out of the two. The first

ones were made by Keds when they created the canvas-topped

rubber-soled shoes. They were dubbed sneakers as they were much

quieter than heavy-heeled shoes. The official English equivalent to

sneakers is actually plimsolls.



The Sneakerhead Heaven

Sneaker Technologies

 

Technologies are playing a huge role in the modern era too. We've

got self tying shoes from Nike  with the launch of the HyperAdapt's,

Adidas innovation in the Boost technology, the huge success of the

adidas NMD which are one of the German brand’s best selling

sneakers and the rise of flyknit uppers. Other notable technological

advances include adidas’ Tubular cushioning, the Nike+ data

collecting technology for athletes, adidas’ Springblade soles, the

super light Nike Free Hyperfeel, the divisive Vibram 5 Finger shoes

and Nike’s hugely honourable Zoom Soldier 8 shoe with Flyease

technology to help people with disabilities to take off their shoes with

one hand, particularly good for people who have suffered strokes,

amputees and people with cerebral palsy.

Adidas Pureboost

Nike Hyperadapt 1.0