Wondering how a canvas beach shoe became a status symbol? The history of sneaker culture runs from rubber-soled sandshoes through sport, music and resale. Athletes, artists and film stars turned a practical shoe into an object of desire.
This short history sits inside the wider topic of footwear trends.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Global sneaker market, 2020 | About US$79 billion |
| Forecast for the global sneaker market, 2026 | US$120 billion |
| Global sneaker resale market, 2019 | US$6 billion |
| Forecast for the resale market, 2030 | US$30 billion |
| Launch of Nike Air Jordans (start of the second wave) | 1984 |
The market figures come from The Conversation’s May 2021 article, and forecasts like these can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
From sandshoes to sports shoes
According to The Conversation, the earliest sports shoes came from The Liverpool Rubber Company, founded by John Boyd Dunlop, in the 1830s. Dunlop worked out how to bond canvas uppers to rubber soles. The result was the sandshoe, worn by Victorians on beach excursions.
Lawn tennis then created demand for more specialised footwear, which a rubber sole could meet. Dunlop launched its Green Flash model in 1929, and tennis player Fred Perry wore it at Wimbledon, as The Conversation tells it.
From there, a handful of makers set the course for sports footwear. These milestones come from the two sources used for this guide:
- In 1921, Chuck Taylor, a semi-pro basketball player, became a salesman with Converse and eventually became the face of the sneaker, according to TheCollector.
- Adi Dassler founded the company in Germany in 1924, and it rebranded as Adidas in 1949, per The Conversation.
- Adidas created the first track shoe with a complete leather sole and hand-forged spikes, worn at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (The Conversation).
- Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight created Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964, and it became Nike Inc. in 1971 (The Conversation).
- Nike’s Cortez, a cushioned running shoe designed by Bowerman, was released in 1972 (The Conversation).
The same article credits Adidas and Nike with shaping the sneaker’s move from sport to style, and links the rise of Nike to the running craze that hit America.
How did sneaker culture become a cultural symbol?
Sociologist Yuniya Kawamura’s research, as summarised by The Conversation, defines three waves of sneaker culture. They give a useful frame for the story.
- The first wave, in the 1970s, was defined by an underground sneaker culture and the emergence of hip-hop. The Adidas Samba became a key part of Terrace Fashion within football fan subculture.
- The second wave began in 1984 with the launch of Nike Air Jordans. It brought the commodification of sneakers and their desirability as status items, fuelled by celebrity endorsements.
- The third wave is marked by the digital age and the resulting growth in sneaker marketing and resell culture.
Hip-hop supplied the early waves with a defining moment: Run-DMC’s 1986 track “My Adidas” ended in a sponsorship deal. For The Conversation, that moment gave sneakers a deep-rooted place in popular culture. TheCollector traces the start of artist and brand collaborations to the same pairing of Run-DMC and Adidas.
The sources differ on the exact date of the Air Jordan debut. The Conversation places the launch in 1984, while TheCollector’s timeline shows a 1985 Air Jordan 1 high top, so treat the exact year with care.
Basketball, music and film made sneakers everyday wear
Sneakers entered daily life through sport first, then through the stars people admired. TheCollector names Walt “Clyde” Frazier as the first NBA player to have a signature sneaker, the PUMA Clyde. It adds that the shoe came back with dancers in the 1980s.
Music
Music gave listeners a way to copy their idols. According to TheCollector, PUMA Suedes and Clydes were popular with b-boys and b-girls in the 1980s, and Nike Air Force 1s were a favourite of rappers and musicians. Converse sneakers were also starting to be worn by rock and punk artists such as Kurt Cobain and Joe Strummer.
The same source says Rihanna was named creative director of PUMA in 2016. It describes her brand as having revitalised a PUMA that had declining sales.
Film
Movies turned some shoes into household names. These examples come from The Conversation and TheCollector:
- The Nike Cortez was worn by Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, which The Conversation says secured Nike’s cultural status.
- Vans’ checkered slip-ons became widely popular after Sean Penn’s character wore them in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, per TheCollector.
- Baby’s white Keds from Dirty Dancing drove the brand’s sales ten times that year, according to TheCollector.
- Space Jam arrived in 1996, and a collection inspired by the film was released in 2016, as TheCollector notes.
Retro releases tied to films work because people link a style with a particular era. TheCollector argues that being reminded of a style from your childhood makes a re-release more enticing.
The sneakerhead and resale era
The Conversation reports that the global sneaker resale market was valued at US$6 billion in 2019 and was forecast to reach US$30 billion by 2030. Those were the figures in its May 2021 article. The growing presence of sneakerheads, who collect and trade sneakers, helps the shoes keep their cult status.
Nike and Adidas routinely release limited editions linked to a celebrity, hip-hop star or athlete. The article says it is not unusual for people to queue through the night for rare models.
It gives two examples: Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Red October” and Air Jordan x 1 Off-White “Chicago”. The article says these had a retail value of US$190 to US$240 and were reselling for between US$1,695 and US$6,118. Those are 2021 prices from The Conversation, so check current listings before you compare.
Comfort, luxury and the sneaker at work
The Conversation says the last decade saw a big shift in how sneakers are worn. Wearing a pair was no longer frowned upon at work or on more formal occasions. Even the etiquette experts Debrett’s deemed them socially acceptable for smart casual occasions.
The same May 2021 article ties this to the athleisure trend and the pursuit of comfort. It adds that pandemic lockdowns made people prioritise comfort further, raising sales of loungewear, athleisure and flat shoes like sneakers.
As of that article, footwear was the biggest selling category in the online luxury market. It also reports that in 2017 Balenciaga’s Triple S became the biggest seller in the luxury sneaker market, and it names Gucci and Balenciaga as brands setting the pace (The Conversation).
Sneakers and the blurring of gender lines
Made for both men and women, sneakers helped blur the lines around what counted as fashion for men only, according to TheCollector. It says women’s fashion started to change during the early 1900s.
Women were starting to go to work and take part in sports and exercise. That shift made practical footwear a real need rather than a novelty.
Why this history still matters
Read together, the two sources point to a few repeating patterns:
- Function came first: rubber soles and canvas uppers answered the needs of beach trips and tennis.
- Endorsement and collaboration turned athletic shoes into status items, from Chuck Taylor to Run-DMC to Rihanna.
- Scarcity and resale now shape how some pairs are valued, as the 2021 figures above show.
If you want to see how newer materials are changing shoes, you can read about vegan leather shoes. For a look at newer ways of making them, there is also a guide to 3d printed shoes.
Frequently asked questions
When did the first sports shoes appear?
Show answer
The Conversation says the earliest sports shoes were made by The Liverpool Rubber Company in the 1830s. They bonded canvas uppers to rubber soles and were known as sandshoes (source).
What are the three waves of sneaker culture?
Show answer
Yuniya Kawamura defines them as the underground and hip-hop wave of the 1970s, the celebrity-endorsed wave that began in 1984 with Nike Air Jordans, and the digital-age wave of marketing and resell culture (The Conversation).
Why did Run-DMC matter to sneaker culture?
Show answer
Run-DMC released “My Adidas” in 1986, which led to a sponsorship deal with the brand. The Conversation says this forged the sneaker’s place in popular culture (source).
How big is the sneaker resale market?
Show answer
The Conversation valued it at US$6 billion in 2019 and forecast US$30 billion by 2030, in an article published in May 2021. Forecasts change, so check the source and newer data.
