Sneaker culture changed in North America.
I was once fully immersed in the sneaker industry. In January of 2021, I landed my dream job working at an up-and-coming sneaker startup. Exactly one year later I was laid off.
In hindsight, it was probably for the best. I’d realized that sneaker culture here in North America has deviated so far from what it once was.
The days of scouring Facebook groups in search of your favorite drop are gone. Instead, we now have an online echo chamber interested in the aftermarket value of a sneaker rather than its creative execution.
Thankfully, there are still other global markets doing their due diligence in paying reverence to the origins of sneaker culture. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that these attitudes trickle back here stateside.
Sneaker culture has stayed true elsewhere.
Sneaker traditionalism
A couple of months ago I visited Japan, one of the biggest hotbeds for “sneakerheads” in the world. I found that sneaker culture in Japan — and perhaps more broadly across Asia — has maintained traditionalist values when it comes to footwear fashion, and I just had to be in on it.
While it’s not uncommon to see some crazy Travis Scott x Nike collaboration there, you’re far more likely to see folks toeing the line between utilitarianism and artistry over pure ostentation.
I’m not trying to say that there is a “right way” to wear sneakers, but there is a wrong way.
When comparing North American sneaker culture versus Asian sneaker culture, I believe that we’ve lost a bit of our sense of self-expression and passion here.
We could stand to learn a couple of things from our fellow sneakerheads overseas.
Sneaker culture is more than hype
When taking a walk through any “trendy” neighborhood, you will see one of these three silhouettes, if not all of them: the Nike Dunk Low, the Adidas Yeezy 350, and/or the Adidas Samba.
Three great…
Read the full article here
