From the streets of Brooklyn to luxury boutiques, the crazy epic of the sneaker
The emergence of the sneaker phenomenon
At his Saint-Tropez wedding in 1971, rock star Mick Jagger paired an Yves Saint Laurent three-piece suit with an old pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star. A veritable declaration of war against the frozen fashion codes of the time, until then dictated by the sophisticated collections of fashion houses and regulated tailors. Because with their relaxed look carrying a rebellious spirit, sneakers first seduced counter-cultures. In Paris, in the 1950s, where people dance the bebop in the cellars of the bars of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Then in New York, in the 80s, where hip-hop pioneers Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow or the Sugarhill Gang appeared in pairs of Nike Air Force 1 or Puma Suede on their feet. In the film Do The Right Thing directed by Spike Lee , a young man from Brooklyn cleans his pair of Air Jordan IVs using a toothbrush after a cyclist ran over them. Released in 1989, this cult scene crystallizes all the importance of sneaker culture from the end of the 80s. it was ok because it was inventive, original” remarks Udi Avshalom, chief operating officer at Yeezy . Because it is above all an emblematic sport of the American dream which has participated in democratizing the use of sneakers: basketball.
Because it is enough to install a basket at the corner of a street or on an electricity pylon, basketball is the favorite sport of American working-class neighborhoods. From the Bronx in New York to the Southside of Los Angeles, everyone practices this sport whose representatives have always been close to the hip-hop movement. Many models such as the Chuck Taylor All Star, the Puma Clyde or the Air Force 1 were designed for the polished floors of the NBA before becoming street icons. But it's another pair from basketball that will make the sneaker a real social phenomenon. In 1984, the American equipment manufacturer Nike signed a contract with the young Michael Jordan , who was about to join the NBA. In addition to the astronomical sum that the player will receive for 5 years, the brand promises him the creation of a line of clothing in his image. Designed by designer Peter Moore, the first version of the Air Jordan features a flexible high upper available in three colorways (white/white, red/white and red/black). Like the player, who would later become the best basketball player of all time, sales of the shoe were a dazzling success (150 million dollars in the first three years of marketing) and therefore became a symbol of American popular culture.
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