Sneaker Culture: An Examination In Three Parts
This has been my heart for the past two months, correction this has been my baby. It may seem like a disturbing comparison but this documentary was born out of my mind and fathered by my passion for all things kicks.
Sitting in that class today and watching my work on screen there was a sense of pride and slight embarrasment, mainly because I hate the sound of my voice – suprising as that may seem! Yet, for the most part pride.
Before I started creating my documentary my main goal was to give this topic justice. To get across not just the passion I have for sneakers but the appreciation for the design, implementation and process of it also. While I realised I wasn’t doing something entirely new here, the whole process of interviewing, editing and communicates my ideas visually was new to me. And in some cases the subject matter was new to my audience of class mates.
This documentary gave me the opportunity to introduce, explain and critique sneaker culture and explain why people are associated with it. I had to play devils advocate as I made this.
In doing so I learnt some amazing stuff about the business of sneakers and mentality of brands but also peoples insights and personal opinions which are the real highlight to this documentary.
Yet, suprisingly I learnt about why I am associated to this culture. I think that was really defined while making this.
It is clearly evident that sneaker culture has changed.
I understand it’s transcendents, as this New York phenomenon is now appreciated all around the world yet in it’s transformation? Has the essence of the culture been lost in its growth ?
I remember the first ever blog post I done here called Old Love New Love and explained why I loved sneakers so much.
Upon reflection it should have been entitled New love and just that! I have only contemporarily become a member of this burgeoining culture but as everything there are people before you who enjoyed it but most of all enjoyed it in it’s purest form.
Its purest form being a niche sub culture – the readings of Bobitto Garcia showed me this. Yet, contemporarily we claim it as our own because the technology is much more advanced and the rules of the game have changed. Today sneaker culture is defined by a Hypebeast mentality, people wear sneakers, trainers, kicks, with little or no understanding of the history of the culture.
I believe brands have changed the direction of sneaker culture, they became rich by marketing a culture that before relied on word of mouth and foot soldiers, they put it on tv, on billboards and turned the sneaker into a form of social normality, you needed to have it to be hip, cool and chic. Today the marketing and advertising strategies of leading brands have remained same and the faces associated with the product have changed. This is what has made sneaker culture new, these are the rules we adhere to, the ones created by the brands and not the people.
The basis of sneaker culture may remain the same – the passion, the love, the adoration for kicks yet the modes of operation have significantly changed.
What of the state of sneaker culture today? Since I’ve been in America I have only purchased 1 pair of kicks – fact.
A pair of Vans Authentics. Nothing is catching my eye at the moment, nothing is making me want to spend by money. The market is heavily saturated with product that favour style over substance.
This may sound like a defamation of sneaker culture but it really is just an eye opening to me of what I was buying into. I want to understand the business aspect of sneaker culture the most. The communication of ideas all spread from here.
So you say where is this “masterpiece”?
And I reply soon good people soon!
