Sneaker History

Highlights in history of sneakers - 100 years of sneakers 1917 - 2017

1917-2017 -ARE YOU READY?

100 YEARS OF SNEAKERS 1917

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star

04

1957

Converse All Star Low

05

1996 Air Jordan Xl

17

1965

Adidas Stan Smith

06

1999 Air Jordan XlV

17

1968

Puma Suede

07

2006 Air Jordan XXl

17

1969

Adidas Superstar

08

2013 Air Jordan XX8

17

1976

Vans Era “Checkerboard”

10

1986

Converse Weapon

19

1982

Vans Classic Slip-Ons

11

1986

Nike Dunk

21

1982

Nike Air Force 1

12

1987

Nike Air Max 1

22

1985

Reebok Freestyle

13

1991

Nike Air Huarache

23

1983

Reebok Ex-0-Fit

13

1994

Reebok Insta Pump Fury

25

1987

Reebok Workout Low

13

1995

Nike Air Max 95

26

1984

Fila T1

14

1997

Nike Air Max 97

27

1984

New Balance 1300

15

2009

Nike Air Yeezy

28

1986

Air Jordan ll

1990 Air Jordan V

16

16

2011

Nike Air Max 90 “Infrared”

29

1985 Nike Air Jordan l

16

2012

Nike HTM Flyknit Trainer +

31

1988 Air Jordan lll

16

2013

Jeremy Scott x Adidas

32

1989 Air Jordan lV

16

2017

Nike Foamposite

33

1917 Converse Chuck Taylor All Star THE CONVERSE CHUCK TAYLOR ALL-STARS ARE AMONGST THE ALL-TIME BEST SELLERS, WITH 750 MILLION PAIRS SOLD IN 144 COUNTRIES.

100 YEARS OF FAME Kurt Cobain wore them. So did Snoop Dogg. Even Marty McFly donned a pair when he went back to the future.

everyone from basketball stars, punks and hip hop aficionados to your normal everyday student, mom and business associate.

Chances are, at some point, you’ve worn them too, and if not, you’ve known someone who has. With its sleek classic black canvas exterior, stark white soles and ever-recognizable star logo, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star, as it is more formally known, is perhaps the best-selling shoe of all time and for good reason.

Not only have Chuck Taylors managed to survive decade after decade of fads and trends, but the y’ve succeeded in transcending lifestyle boundaries and appearing on the feet of

First introduced in 1917 as a basketball shoe and known as the “All-Star,” this timeless shoe of choice for many was nowhere near as popular as it is now. That is until basketball player Chuck Taylor embraced them as his favorite shoe.

1957 Converse All Star Low POWERLIFTING Although intended as a basketball shoe, powerlifting athletes have embraced Chuck Taylors as ideal for the sport. Chucks have flat, rubber soles that enforce correct posture on movements such as deadlifts, squats, and bench presses. "The 71-year-old Pete Bennett also set a world record for the squat in his age class at 465 lbs in a pair of Converse."

The strong canvas material allows powerlifters to push their feet to the outside on squats which helps keep their knees out and activates their glutes."

The low-top Chuck Taylors provide complete ankle mobility, as the canvas does not cover the ankles.

Chuck Taylor All-Stars may have lost their practicality within the professional basketball community, but their popularity among weight lifters is prominent.

THE ROCK STEADY CREW INTRODUCE B-BOY CULTURE TO THE MAINSTREAM AND MAKE CONVERSE ALL-STARS LOOK COOLER THAN NBA PLAYERS EVER DID

1965 Adidas Stan Smith FROM TENNIS TO FASHION Adidas Stan Smith, usually made with a white leather upper and laces, has a simple design. Unlike most Adidas shoes, it does not have the external three stripes. Instead there are three rows of perforations (or punched ventilation holes) on both sides of each shoe’s leather upper in the same pattern that

should symbolize the three ordinary stripes. There is sometimes a sketched picture of Stan Smith on the tongue of the shoe. In some sense, the Adidas branding is minimal on the shoe. The design and form of the shoe has basically stayed the same since it was introduced, but several new versions and colorways have appeared during the years.

1968 Puma Suede THE HIGH-QUALITY SUPPLE SUEDE, THAT WHITE PUMA SWOOP, THE EASYGOING SILHOUETTE — YOU CAN’T WALK AROUND ANY CITY WITHOUT SPOTTING THIS UNISEX SHOE AT LEAST ONCE.

WINNING GOLD IN PUMAS The Suede’s history actually begins in the world of professional sports.

The Puma Suede’s introduction to the world took place during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games, when a young athlete named Tommie Smith claimed gold in the 200m sprint. Smith wore his Suedes on the podium moments following his epic gold win, which had curious viewers turning their attention to Smith’s feet.

1969 Adidas Superstar

THE ADIDAS SUPERSTAR, WITH ITS SHELL TOE AND TRADEMARK STRIPES, IS NOW CONSIDERED A STREETWEAR STAPLE, BUT ITS ORIGINS ACTUALLY OWE THEMSELVES TO SPORTS.

SHELL TOE, HERRINGBONE SOLE “The Superstar was originally designed as a basketball shoe,” says Sam Handy, senior design director of Adidas Originals. “At that time, the shoe was worn by most players on the courts and became easily identifiable, given the shoe’s unique shell-toe detail.” And it was that design and protective details such as the toe cap, the extra padding around the achilles area, and the thick, rubbery sole that made the Superstar a huge sensation on the courts during the mid-1970s (in fact, there was a time when 75% of all pro basketball players were sporting the Superstar).

“With mic in hand, I cold took command My Adidas and me close as can be We make a mean team, my Adidas and me We get around together, we down forever And we won't be mad when caught in bad weather” RUN D.M.C “My Adidas” 1986

RUNNING WITH D.M.C In 1983, from Hollis Queens, NY, came Run-D.M.C., a rap group that refused to conform to pop standards by deciding that they would dress on stage the way they dressed on the streets. The trio was most notable for wearing the Superstars without any

laces and pushing the tongue of the shoe out. "Adidas itself only found out about this love story when the band held up the 3-Stripes shoes during a concert in front of 40.000 fans – one of these concertgoers was an adidas employee"

1976 Vans Era “Checkerboard” SKATER BUSINESS The Vans #95, now known as the Era, with a padded collar and different color combinations, is designed

by Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta and becomes the shoe of choice for a generation of skateboarders.

With its low profile and slick design made it immensely popular. In the late ‘70s, Steve Van Doren, son of Vans founder Paul Van Doren, noticed that teenage skaters were coloring the rubber midsole of their shoe with black pens to create a checkerboard look.

Steve further developed this idea, moving the pattern to the canvas upper to create the unmistakeable look.

1982 Vans Classic Slip-Ons A MOVIE STAR Vans Classic Slip-Ons gain international attention and appeal when they are worn by Sean Penn in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

1982 Nike Air Force 1

LEGENDS MAY BE BORN, NOT MADE, BUT IT STILL TAKES TIME.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU The Air Force 1, despite all the firsts, was at the same time just another Nike basketball shoe that would stick around for a year and eventually be replaced by something better. In fact, by the time it was released, Kilgore - like any designer - was two or three seasons down the road already. Still, the Air Force 1 wouldn't go away that easily.

More or less everything that followed in terms of basketball footwear owed some debt to Bruce Kilgore’s 1982 magnum opus - whether it was the adidas Forum or Nike’s own Revolution. And later, when more advanced performance models made it obsolete, other companies would seek to emulate its style.

Thirty years on, it’s still a large presence.

1983 Reebok Ex-0-Fit A FITNESS DREAM Reebok's Ex-O-Fit was one of the first sneakers to feature Velcro straps, which clearly became so mainstream fashionable that it's been a part of Kanye's Yeezy line. The Ex-O-Fit was even more influential in the fitness arena in the '80s, however.

These Reeboks represented a change in the way popular society thought of fitness and health.

1985 Reebok Freestyle

1987 Reebok Workout Low

1984 Fila T1 CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME - C.R.E.A.M

A HOOD STATUS SYMBOL The Fila T1 was a legit performance product that was no doubt worn on tennis courts from Venice to Venice Beach. But in its best-known tan/cream colorway, the T1 was every bit as much of a hood status symbol as its Italian-made big brother. The clean, recognizable design and Italianesque flavor looked just as good with velour track suits as it did with matchday whites.

2006 FILA WU TANG “C.R.E.A.M” TENNIS

MORE CREAM While most envision the Nike Dunk "Wu-Tang" when associating the Wu and sneakers, it's their '07 collaboration with FILA that actually put more cream into the pockets of the group out of Shaolin. Moderately priced at 120 dolla dolla bills, yall, Wu-Tang's CREAM classics may or may not have been a better exploration into fashion than their Wu Wear clothing line.

1984 New Balance 1300

BACK IN 1984 New Balance introduced the M1300, a shoe which at the time was one of the most expensive on the market, however, the shoe was a bit of a technological breakthrough, with extremely high levels of craftmanship, luxurious materials and the technology necessary for performance. However, even though the M1300 was brought in as a performance shoe, the Japanese seen no reason as to why it shouldn’t also be used for casual wear.

1985 Nike Air Jordan l

1986 Air Jordan ll

1989 Air Jordan lV 1988 Air Jordan lll

1990 Air Jordan V

BEFORE THE AIR JORDAN 1 Player edition sneakers were strictly for, you know, players. There were Puma Clydes, wbut those were so ahead of their time that no one really caught on. Air Jordans changed the whole sneaker dynamic, propelling a niche product into the mainstream via a single player - Albeit a highly talented and highly charismatic one.

It's not being hyperbolic to say that the first Air Jordan changed everything.

1996 Air Jordan Xl

2006 Air Jordan XXl 1999 Air Jordan XlV

2013 Air Jordan XX8

1986 Converse Weapon WAS IT THE NAME? Was it the endorsers? Was it the shoe itself? Whatever the case, the Converse Weapon was able to hold its own against the Jordan juggernaut of the mid-‘80s. Worn by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (in basic black and white for Bird and garish Lakers purple and yellow for Magic) as well as fellow NBA stars Isiah Thomas and Bernard King, the Weapon was essentially the Nike Dunk writ large — a team shoe for NBA All-Stars.

Converse’s patented Y-Bar system not only added support, but gave the sneaker its distinctive look.

1986 Nike Dunk

COLLEGE TEAM SHOE Nike's Dunk silhouette may have started on the basketball court but it's since become one of the most trendsetting sneakers of all time.

First there was the on-court impact via team colors.

Then the early '00s saw the Nike Dunk take on its SB form and subsequently change the way sneakerheads lived. SB Dunks had people lining up, looking for release dates, and wearing stuffed tongues in ways that had never been popular before. And while Nike made the Dunk a skate shoe, other companies made skate shoes that looked an awful lot like dunks. We see you, Lakai Telford.

1987 Nike Air Max 1 VISIBLE AIR In a sneaker sense, the Air Max 87, or Air Max 1 as we commonly call it, started one of the most important trends in footwear design, visible Air. It also became one of the first "retro" releases in the world of sneakers. The Air Max 1 also brought new attention to running in the late '80s that was in a decline. Then there's the fact that these became a status symbol in the 'hood back in the day. Influence on a hundred thousand trillion.

1991 Nike Air Huarache HUARACHE HEAT Tinker Hatfield was inspired by a water-skiing bootie and Mayan sandals, and the end result changed not only how sneakers looked, but how they fit. Most importantly, Hatfield's Huarache concept influenced his own designs, and found its way into product ranging from the Air Jordan to a new division called ACG.

QUEEN LATIFAH — NIKE HUARACHE LE "PURPLE PUNCH" - ALBUM/SINGLE: LATIFAH'S HAD IT UP 2 HERE - RELEASE: 1991

1994 Reebok Insta Pump Fury PUMP TECHNOLOGY Sneaker designers have been looking to do away with laces for years, so Reebok’s Insta Pump Fury was quite the sensation when it dropped in

1994. The ultimate realization of the then five-year-old Pump technology,

the Pump Fury also made do with a radically reduced midsole, thanks to the GraphLight plate, Hexalite cushioning, and a fully synthetic upper. The aesthetics are still futuristic.

Reebok’s Insta Pump Fury aimed to rewrite the design aesthetics for a running shoe – resulting in an iconic a product that the company has ever put out. With the relaunch of the ZPump Fusion this year, our latest #HSTBT explores what went into bringing the Insta Pump Fury from a paper sketch to reality.

WHAT IF? The creation of the Reebok Insta Pump Fury started with a series of “what ifs.” Whether you’re problem solving everyday minutia or trying to change the sneaker industry forever, the simplest solution is often the one that works best. For Paul Litchfield, VP of Advanced Concepts; and Steven Smith, the shoe’s designer, the answer to one of those questions came from an unlikely source: a ski boot.

1995 Nike Air Max 95 VISIBLE AIR BROUGHT TO THE FOREFOOT Legendary designer Sergio Lozano had his share of negative feedback during development of what, for some, has come to be called “the Air Max.” The shoe was a breakthrough for Nike on all fronts, from the functional layered construction technique on the upper to the black midsole. The 95 also presented

the inaugural debut of Forefoot Air in a brilliant neon green made ever more attractive by contrast with the unheard of black midsole. Compartmentalized air with varying PSI units in the heel made the shoe an exceptional ride as the super confident Nike Air Max designers placed a quiet Swoosh near the ankle, letting the shoe’s beauty speak for itself.

THE ORIGINAL "NEON" COLORWAY HAS RELEASED OVER 10 TIMES.

1997 Nike Air Max 97 FUTURISTIC DESIGN The Air Max 97 was designed by Christian Tresser and represented yet another groundbreaking moment in Air technology with an Air sole unit running the length of the entire shoe. Though it still incorporated a layer of polyurethane foam, it offered runners sport-specific crash padding to provide more durable heel-to-toe cushioning. This was the first Air Sole developed specifically for running, harkening back to Nike’s inception as a company on the frontier of high performance footwear for runners.

2009 Nike Air Yeezy KANYE WHO? The Nike Air Yeezy, named for Kanye West’s "Yeezy" nickname, was developed from 2007 to 2009 by rapper Kanye West and Nike Creative Director Mark Smith. Despite later qualms with Nike, Kanye has spoken very highly of Smith as both a collaborator and designer, and Smith has said the same of Kanye, stating that he is "a truly creative talent" and a "natural designer."

The design process for the Nike Air Yeezy was long and features dozens of sample colorways and silhouettes. The early prototype of the Air Yeezy had many features that greatly differ from the release version of the shoe. For instance, the midsole and outsole featured what the shoe’s creators referred to as "Death Star" tooling, named for the large spherical shape on the back half of the midsole. The outsole also featured the "Y-print" that was used on the toebox of the three release versions. Also, on the very early prototypes, the shoe used LED lights implanted in the outsole, but after issues with low battery life

and cost evaluation, production staff at Nike came to the conclusion that phosphorescent rubber would be used in place of the LED lights.

2011 Nike Air Max 90 “Infrared�

STILL A CLASSIC Designer Tinker Hatfield blended and mixed the colors and shapes from the midsole to the upper, producing a unique, fast, and aggressive look.

The midsole was separated into front and back compartments to allow for a range of performance

and material options. This shoe featured a first in the multi-lace port system, one of seven molded parts on the upper.

The Air Max 90 was originally know as the Air Max III, up until 2000 when it was retroed and renamed the Air Max 90 after the year it released.

2012 Nike HTM Flyknit Trainer + FLYWIRE CABLES The heralded HTM x Flyknit Collection continues the unbreakable string of releases as we get some new information regarding the upcoming Nike Lunar Flyknit Trainer+ re-imagined by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker.

As expected the upper of this HTM vision is indeed a multi-colored mix with a predominately bright yellow/Volt backbone, with black accents on the interior, tongue, and Flywire cables, with a solid white Lunar outsole acting as the base.

ULTIMATIVE BREATH Nike Running stepped away from leather, synthetic uppers, and breathable mesh in 2012 when they introduced Flyknit. Because how many materials can be lighter than simple thread? The yarn upper is sewn into, and held in place by, a lightweight structure. The sneaker was immediately functional for Olympic sprinters, and easily desirable for its comfort and aggressive coloring. From the vivid HTM designs to Supreme’s all-black effort, the Flyknit continues to impress.

2013 Jeremy Scott x Adidas Wings 2.0 “Eagle” THE JS EAGLE WING IS AN EVOLUTION OF THE WINGS CONCEPT, TAKING THE IDEA TO A NEW LEVEL WITH A TOTEM POLE THEME, THREE-DIMENSIONAL TONGUE, AND MULTIPLE COLORS.

CRAZY DESIGN If you’re looking for a sneaker that’s subtle, nuanced and low-key, you may want to pass right by the Jeremy Scott section at your local boutique. But if you’re looking for something a little more in-your-face, like an Attitude high-top with three tongues, then you just might find something you like in this list.

Jeremy Scott’s boundary-pushing, and long running collaboration with adidas has produced some of the most unique footwear of all time, but some models stand out – for one reason or another – even more than others.

2017 Nike Foamposite

MORE FUTURE The 20th Anniversary of Foamposite will be an ongoing storyline next year, and already we’re learning that Nike has plans of bringing back three of the most iconic Foamposite One drops ever. Alongside the OG “Dark Neon Royal” colorway, Nike aims to return the “Eggplant” and “Copper” joints. The two latter colorways are credited as being among the most coveted Foams during the shoe’s peak in the early 2010s, but since then the demand for these futuristic shoes has waned mostly due to Nike’s inability to create exciting colorways. Will the return of these three bring energy back to the Foamposite One, a shoe that once ruled the sneaker game?

ROYAL, EGGPLANT, AND COPPER FOAMPOSITES RELEASING IN 2017