The evolution of sneakers from functional kicks to high-value commodities
0#youth #sneaker #craze #adidas
Would you spend $200,000 on a pair of sneakers you can't wear? 中文版 • Indonesian This is Li-Anne — known as "Monsieur Banana". She's an influencer and self-taught sneakerhead a person who collects, trades, customizes, or admires sneakers as a hobby or career. I'm actually afraid to count," she laughs. "I started counting and in just one episode I got to 50, so I stopped. I say just under 200? But these sneakers aren't your everyday pair for playing basketball or hitting the gym. These sneakers can sell for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers who often don't even play sports and are often never worn. Some readers may have crossed paths with sneakerheads, lining up or camping out overnight outside hundreds of retailers ahead of a new release, hoping to get their hands on a coveted pair. Monsieur Banana is one of these people. "In 2015, I was very dedicated to buying this pair of Yeezy 350 [Adidas shoes] ... I went to a camping store, bought a camping chair, and got it sorted overnight," she says. “When the Yeezy hype was at its peak, there were people lining up for probably two or three days. This version of the story is not shown as intended. Please to view it in its designed interactive format. But what Monsieur Banana describes is just the tip of the iceberg. While kids around the world beg, steal or borrow to snag their dream shoes, companies and celebrities are luring in, sometimes marking shoes up to 10,000 times the cost production, creating an industry worth tens of billions dollars. "Melbourne sneaker store manager Jayden Traynor said 'I have no idea how some of these kids get [these shoes]. “It seems like kids are either starting jobs younger or parents are willing to pay more for these things.” "They want to fit in at school. They want to have the things that other kids have. And the parents don't want them to miss out. So it's really big." And now 2023, physical sneakers are going digital, with Nike, Adidas and others creating digital shoe companies to trade in extremely expensive “virtual” sneakers—in NFT form —sneakers that cannot be worn, but only exist the digital space. But how did it happen? How did a pair of smelly sneakers become such a sought-after commodity that kids are now saving up to buy digital shoes they can't even wear? First, it's important to understand how a pair of physical sneakers can cost so much in the first place. From functional beats to self-expression The popularity of athletic shoes can be traced back to the 19th century, when some companies began making rubber-soled shoes for athletes in Europe. "American sneaker and streetwear designer Jeff Staple said, "If people are old enough to remember, sneakers were basically a sport of merchandise equipment. "You buy sneakers from the same store, you buy a baseball bat, a tennis racquet, and ice skates, and you wore sneakers to play sports. "Then when the sneakers are destroyed, because you play too many sports, you throw away the sneaker and buy an