Pumped Up Kicks

The best selling item in the whole world and every person on earth has at least a pair of them. No one knows from where they came from, but everyone wants them and will be wanting them forever. 

No surprise,we’re only talking about shoes.Call them what you like: Trainers, sneakers,or Tennis shoes, but the concept is all the same for them,a rubber sole and uppers available in various kinds of material and color. Even in Ancient Greece, athletes were already wearing special shoes to help them during the Olympic Games. Indians used to cover the soles of their feet with latex from carving rubber’s barks. We would have to wait until the XIX century before a sneaker-like model was created. In that period, thanks to a clay mold, the shape of a foot sole was created with a rubber, the sole was put to the upper part of the shoe. Attracted by this  new experiment, Charles Goodyear  worked on rubber, until he would create a series of shoes.The very first people who benefited from this new type of shoe were tennis players, who swiftly embraced these shoes to play with.

1986 Olympic Games in Athens

That's why, they were called "tennis shoes" at first. Before long, the World Cup and the Olympic Games in 1986 in Athens would help in the spread of sneakers in the sporting world. But when the first basketball shoes came out in 1919, no one could ever have guessed their great success, even in time. Between teenagers and sneakers it was really love at first sight, and soon enough they became the symbol of young rebels. 

James Jean wearing All Star

James Dean used to wear All Stars, many rock bands were then photographed wearing sneakers from different brands and models, a symbol for emancipation which would become a mass phenomenon. As time went by, sneakers were used to match elegant office suits,showing an easy chic taste. Giorgio Armani himself, was the forerunner of this trend. 

In the US, the market was booming thanks to the overwelhming love American's have for a healthy lifestyle.Only in the 80's, over 30 million people have used them to run. That’s why in time studies have been carried out on sneakers, applying new and advanced technologies to make them even more fitting to every sport.

      

"I run with 600 Million Legs" Adidas Ad

In 1978, Nike introduced the Air technology that featured pressurized gas capsulated  in a cushioning between the sole and the upper of the shoe. Thanks to this innovation, and more, Nike’s annual sales are up to 10 billion dollars! If you love technology, this is exactly what you need: in 2005,Adidas started to the market Adidas One, a smart shoe capable to compress and decompress its sole every four steps you make, controlled by a small computer which is able to automatically calculate algorithms and adjust the soles of the shoe! Trainers at present not only belong to the sporting world, but are invading street fashions all over the world, and many shoe brands are born beside the most popular ones. 

Vintage fashion is showing a revised model of the past; new sneakers suggest a retro taste, but they will never be out of fashion.