The OG Sneakerhead — an Aron Solomon Series
This pic was taken as I type this piece on my phone here in my home city, Berlin. This is what I’m wearing today — the sneakers are a special collaboration between Tokyo’s Porter and Adidas. The shoe is the NMD Mid Chukka and I acquired it through one of my favorite shops — WoodWood in Copenhagen.
For a sneaker fanatic — which I am, a self-identified OG Sneakerhead [which means “Original Gangster Sneakerhead,” or that I’ve been a sneaker fanatic from way before it was an in thing to do. For me, this dates back to my childhood in the 1960s] — there’s a lot wrapped into that first paragraph. Let’s dissect:
First, a collaboration is when a sneaker company, here Adidas, works together with another brand or a designer or both, to create a variation of an existing line of their shoes. Here, this is a collaboration between Adidas and a really high-end, well-respected Japanese lifestyle brand that makes clothes and bags and more. The collaborator infuses their personal or professional brand’s style into the existing line, thereby creating a new and limited variation. Needless to say, collaborations can be highly sought-out by collectors.
Next, the NMD is a style of an Adidas sneaker. It is a style that has been very polarizing, with some sneaker fanatics saying that it’s one of the worst things Adidas has designed in a decade or so and others (I’m firmly in group two) who can’t get enough of what they see as a smart, clean design aesthetic.
Next, the shoes I’m wearing today are clearly a mid-cut boot. But are they? The definition of what a “sneaker” is has dramatically expanded over the past ten years. Boots can be sneakers, old school canvas basketball shoes are sneakers, and futuristic crazy shoes can be sneakers. Google the new Adidas Futurecraft, designed as a shoe that will be able to be 3D printed on demand for the user. It’s beautiful and kind of crazy. The first Futurecrafts are already in circulation.
Finally, WoodWood is an amazing shop in Copenhagen (they also have a shop here in Berlin and an online store) which, like many “lifestyle” stores, often do their own collaborations. WoodWood has worked with Adidas for a while and while the shoes I acquired there weren’t their own collaboration, shops such as theirs often curate the collaborations of others. Simply put, they find and sell stuff they think is cool and that their customers will agree and buy from them.
Honestly, I think about sneakers every day and a more significant portion of the day than I’d care to admit. While far from my only passion in life, it may be my most creative. But is it ridiculous to think of sneakers and creativity (as I do) as being inextricably bound today?
I’d give a hard no.
Today, sneakers are an accessbile form of art. The expression of what is being designed and we choose to wear and collect is a form of art. And the sneaker industry in early 2018 is larger and more powerful that at any time in history.
Case in point, this week lifestyle media brand Complex formed an alliance with New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology to create a celebrity-infused sneaker certificate program. Students will learn all aspects of the sneaker business, from design to merchandising and much more. It’s a global online program and the first but not last of its kind.
But let’s step back a second and ask what’s fueling this sneaker craze. Even for someone like me, who has been heavily into sneakers since he was a kid, why is there more intensity now? Why is the industry growing so rapidly and why is it becoming so huge?
I have a few ideas on this:
First, more and more people are expressing themselves in how they choose to dress. This isn’t new but it kind of is. More people choose to wear want they want in their professional as well as personal lives. They can be authentically who they are in their work lives, which was not historically the case. For me, I once wore only suits for work. I had no choice. Now I don’t own a suit and I don’t own a pair of shoes that isn’t at least loosely defined as a sneaker, as in today’s pic. I literally don’t own one pair of shoes that isn’t a sneaker, which kind of blows my mind as I type it.
Sneakers are fashion as well as art. The brands and styles of sneakers we choose to wear say something less superficial about us than may appear at first glance. We can pair a simple outfit with sneakers that stand out and create something really unique. Or we can pair simple sneakers with an outrageous outfit. Or we can be Russell Westbrook which, I would argue, is a wonderful aspiration.
Set your own trends. Be a tastemaker rather than simply a consumer.
Sneakers are a product of our culture. The world is becoming a less secure place in many ways. I’ve had conversations with people who are drawn to wearing sneakers because it’s comforting and reminds them of their past, which makes them think of simpler, more comfortable times. Sneakers as soothers.
Finally, sneakers can be immensely comfortable. We are also now entering a phase of popularity for chunkier sneakers, those that have more cushioning than many traditional sneakers of the past. I walk up to ten miles a day, as I really love to get around on foot. For me, sneakers are a practical as well as style essential.
Much of my professional life is and has been in and around the design space, first in education and now in law. How I choose to dress (and not to dress) is a part of my personal and professional design. I can’t imagine sneakers ever not being a part of this.
All of this said, I think a strong argument can be made that sneakers have reached peak popularity. This isn’t to suggest that sneakers won’t remain popular, but sneakers are currently a sixty billion dollar industry.
That’s good and bad. It’s good because, wow, that’s a massive industry and shows have pervasive sneakers and sneaker culture has become on a global scale.
It’s also bad because sneakerheads tend to be obsessive. While I think I’ve personally obviated much of this by being disciplined about keeping my collection under control (note: While it may seem like a lot to some, I won’t own more than 20 pairs — there are people who have thousands — and I wear all of my sneakers rather than keeping them in a box for posterity. I also actually like seeing my sneakers get signs of wear on them — again, some sneakerheads get rid of the shoe after wearing it as little as once, which I think is insane.) I’ve seen and heard of behaviors that are wasteful and destructive. At best, collecting sneakers (or anything else for that matter) is good clean fun. At worst, it’s a destructive addiction.
I plan to write more frequently about sneakers and cover in much more depth some of the topics I briefly touched upon today.
I think sneakers are a great passion to have. As with all passions, when you break it down, there are pros and cons. But for those who love sneakers, the feeling of wearing something you’re really into and makes you feel good, for whatever reasons, is one that we want to experience over and over again.
