DISCOVER THE LATEST ABOUT SNEAKER CULTURE
THE SNEAKERS MARKET IS GROWING
Throughout time, the trade has undergone real revolutions and the streetwear and thesneakers have not been spared. Even before the evolution of distribution methods, it is the number of releases that has been completely disrupted with dozens of pairs per month. We can cite the brand of Kanye West, Yeezy who never stops revisiting its flagship models like the Yeezy 350 V2 but also Jordanwith the avalanche of colors on the Air Jordan 1 Mid. Similarly Nike has amplified its strategy of declination of its classic models like the Nike Air Force 1 or the Nike Dunk. Between reissue of emblematic colors like the Air Jordan 1 Low Shattered Backboard or the creation of new range as with the Nike Air Force 1 Shadow.
The brand with the swoosh is the most productive sports equipment manufacturer in the world. The emergence of digital technology has revolutionized the way people consume sneakers. Once reserved forsneakers addicts who came to buy their pair directly in the store nearest to them, digital has made the sneakers to the greatest number of people. But what contributes strongly to the influence of the sneakers are of course the collaborations between the greatest designers and the giants sportswear as Adidas, Nike, Puma. Whether Adidas with its iconic collaborations with Kanye West, or Pharrel WilliamsNike keeps on rethinking its models by giving the chance to designers from all over the world to let their creativity speak with the project Air Jordan 1 Fearless. We can see in particular the famous red castle district of Paris represented on the very beautiful AirJordan 1Maison Château Rouge. The brands also innovate on the distribution of products by creating exclusive collections and sneakers according to the regions of the world as very recently the Yeezy Mono Ice reserved for theÉtats-unis. The brands of sneakers succeed in anchoring themselves in the daily life of its consumers through weekly releases always more numerous and innovative modes of distribution.
THE MERGER OF LUXURY AND SNEAKER CULTURE : JORDAN x DIOR, NIKE x SACAI, ADIDAS x CHANNEL
The great novelty that is becoming a trend is the meeting between the world sporstwearwith the sneakers and the world of luxury with the designers of high fashion. The first to have grasped this potential is the German brand Adidas. By integrating designers into its creative teams, surprising collaborations were born with the Raf Simons Ozweego or the collaboration with the designer Rick Owens. For the past 10 years, there has been a permanent range Y3, a line signed YohjiYamamoto. In the same way, the first significant collaboration between a luxury house and a sportswear brand was born with the association Chanel x Pharrel Williams on an Adidas NMD Human Race extremely limited. Nike has also managed to make a place for itself in the world of high fashion with strong collaborations with the Japanese house Comme des Garçons.
We find a beautiful Comme des Garçon Air Force 1 or a 3 pack of Nike Air Max 95. Also for several years the brand Undercover has been innovating by reworking original models like the Overbreak or the famous Dunk High. But it is the brand of Bill Bowerman, Nike that comes out the winner of the collaborations between luxury and sportswear. In 2017, Nike partnered with the famous designer from Chigaco Virgil Abloh, currently artistic director of the house Louis Vuitton. Thus the label of the American designer and dj Off-White and Nike offer us a first series of 10 models followed by several other silhouettes. Reworking the materials with a destructured dimension, this collaboration will mark the spirits, opening the door to other partnerships.
Thus in 2020, a unique collaboration between Jordan and the house Dior of the group LVMHappeared on the scene. Sporting the Diormonogram on the swoosh, the two brands are a testament to the gradual blurring of the boundaries between luxury and sportswear to become one. Also in 2017, Supreme ofJames Jebbia joins Louis Vuitton for a capsule collection that will be talked about with a beautiful Box Logo with the LV monogram. Little by little sportswear,streetwear and luxury merge to form a single block.
In 2021, the collaboration pushes the concept further with the collaboration The 50. Nike and Virgil join forces to revisit the Nike Dunkthanks to 50 variations available only via exclusive access on the application SNKRS.
It is even Virgil Abloh who will talk about the end of streetwear in an interview with Dazed :" I would really say that it's going to die, you know ? Its time is over. Like, how many more t-shirts can you own, how many more hoodies, how many more sneakers ?
It therefore seems legitimate to ask how far the sneakers will be initiated?
THE FUTURE OF SNEAKERS : NIKE ADAPT, ADIDAS FUTUCRAFT, YEEZY 700 V3
The sports brands are constantly looking for new models. In recent years the brands are constantly proposing new models. With its revolutionary technology BoostAdidas, declines its silhouettes by playing on the dimension of performance with the pureboostor its ultraboost. Yeezy Adidas and Kanye West offer us more and more technical models with avant-garde silhouettes like the Yeezy 700 V2 Cream Nike innovates by revisiting its classics. One of the most popular innovations, the fusion of the Air Max 1 and Air Max 97 with the Nike Air Max 1/ 97 Sean Wotherspoon.
Composed of a sole of Air Max 1 and a colorful corduroy upper on a base of Air Max 97, this pair has marked the world of sneakers to the point of becoming a collector's pair. the Swoosh brand works around its air bubble with the appearance of new models like the Vapormax or hybrid silhouettes like the Sacai Vaporwaffle. Sports equipment manufacturers are also innovating directly in their manufacturing process taking into consideration environmental causes. Adidas has quickly grasped the environmental issue by offering the first 100% recyclable pair with the Adidas Futurcraft consisting of a sole ofboost and an upper made of primeknitmanufactured starting at plastic waste. Nike also does not hesitate to start developing models starting at waste with its collection named Nike Space Hippie.
Finally the brand of Oregon, integrates new technologies in its sneakers to push always further the comfort and the performances of the sportsmen. After creating the Nike Air Mag, the first self-lacing shoe, Nike has made self-lacing shoes accessible with the Nike Air Adapt. Designed for the practice of basketball, this shoe has revolutionized the sneakers with its technological approach and its lacing that adapts perfectly to all feet. Whether in manufacturing processes, design, models, the giants of the sneakers always push the limits of sneakers to offer us ever more comfortable and customizable silhouettes.