Iconic sneakers tend to have a story behind them as to what makes them iconic. There are many factors that have to be taken into consideration. When I consider what an iconic shoe is, I always see if they meet the criteria on my checklist. This checklist being longevity, impact, influence and what the shoe stood for, given the time frame it was introduced in. My choice for iconic sneakers has to be between two of the greatest brands to impact urban culture and that is Nike and Adidas. These shoes being the Air Force 1 and the Superstar.
The Nike Air Force was produced in 1982 and discontinued in 1984 and re-released in ’86 after which it was never discontinued. After figuring out the white on white colorway, this sneaker took many of the black communities in the U.S. by storm, often being worn by drug dealers and hustlers. This shoe became a symbol for “flyness” in many of the black communities.
As time went by, the Air Force 1s hit South African shores, Including Durban where I grew up. The Air Force 1 had become thee shoe, due to its strikingly white color . But the beauty of an iconic sneaker is its ability for the shoe to come back and flourish in any era with any age group. Currently the Nike Air Force 1 is still an iconic sneaker - kids are still going to sneaker stores in South Africa asking for their pairs.
This brings me to the Adidas superstar and the impact that it had on the sneaker culture across the globe. The Superstar was originally a basketball shoe that was released in 1969 and was dubbed the “shell toe” given its rubbery shell toe piece in the front of the sneaker. With its unique design it caught the attention of Kareem Abdul Jabber, a legend that played for the LA Lakers at the time. This was the traction that they needed for the shoe. Eventually helping it transition from the court to the streets. By the 1980s the Adidas superstar was highly popular as a fashion piece for sneaker lovers. It reached its highest peak of popularity when the rap group, Run dmc made the Adidas superstar their signature fashion choice prompting a song called “my Adidas”.
So How did this sneaker effect my childhood? Well… it was a shoe that was a staple in my community, due to its simple “three stripes”.If you did not have that shoe you were not cool enough to be seen.I played sports, went to family functions and to church in those sneakers. Added to this was the fact that Missy Elliot had us rocking Adidas superstar tracksuits with the shell-toes in the early 2000s.
Each shoe had its time to be iconic, but as the reader which shoe do you feel is more iconic and had the bigger impact on sneaker culture?
- Joshua Dunn
I really enjoyed reading this article 👌🏻
Thank you so much unlce 🙏🏽
Great article Neef!