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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
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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 )
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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
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