A brief social history of canvas topped rubber soled shoes

1. Sneakers: From
sandshoes to
bluechip record
breakers

2. Where did it all begin ?
Shoe fashions are not determined by
chance alone but by the times and
technology we live in. Popular leisure shoes
have a relatively short history (approx. 200
hundred years) and can be traced to the
invention of rubber vulcanisation (1839)
when cheap canvas topped rubber soled
shoes were first made available to the
masses.
Charles Goodyear (1800 - 1860 )

3. Sport and Recreation
Sports, as we understand it
today were restricted to the
very well off but when
steam railways and cheap
travel were made possible
the working class escaped to
the seaside to spend the
new Bank Holidays on the
beach.

4. Sandshoes
The New Liverpool Rubber Company
started to make black canvas topped
rubber soled shoes (sandshoes) which
sold in the thousands.
These were ideal for keeping the feet
cool, walking on the beach and dried
quickly after a paddle.
Very flimsy however these might only
last one trip to the sea.

5. Plimsolls
To reinforce the join between
canvas and rubber a piece of
rubber sheet was wrapped around
the shoe and as this resembled
the new load lines on ships
(Plimsoll Line) the sandshoes
were called plimsolls.
Just to add a fashion dash these
were available in white to mimic
Croquet shoes (kangaroo skin)
worn by the leisure class.

6. Keds & Chucks
Converse All Star or Chucks

7. Rise of Physical Culture
When it was recognised the general fitness of the
(male) population in Western Countries was well
below par, many nations fearing the event of war, and
young men would be unfit to serve, found resources to
establish physical culture programs promoted
throughout the education system, the armed services
as well as via public and private gymnasiums.
Plimsolls were put to good use and even children had
gym shoes.

8. Tennis shoes and Tread Patterns
Adrian Quist (1913 -1991)
The Dunlop Volley 1939

9. A change in musical tempo
When adult males were serving away
from home during WWII, their teenage
offspring took their place at hops and
dance halls.
Swing and Jive required agility as
dancers slid and glided across the
wooden floors.
Canvas topped rubber soled shoes were
perfect shoes and girls wore Keds and
boys, Chucks.

10. Teenage rebellion and juvenile
delinquency

11. Sneakers to Trainers
Trainers first made an appearance at
the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Low
heeled, rippled soled shoes without
an instep were worn by track
athletes warming up.
The two-tone colourway was eye
catching and all the more since this
was the first time the Olympics were
broadcast on the television.
The Pik Ass (Ace of Spades)

12. Trainers : Fashion Crossover
Colourful trainers became fashionable and were
worn mainly by the young for casual wear’
New synthetics materials had profound effect
on sports shoes. Hard, durable nylon soles
provided lightweight, flexible footwear capable
Cellular foams increased the fit and comfort.

13. Space Race and the new polymers
New synthetic polymers gave
the sport shoe industry out of
this world materials with
unlimited properties.
The popularity of sport
increased niche footwear to
accommodate the stresses and
strains of excessive exercise.

14. Basketball Shoes:
The new order
In 1972, Nike released their first
basketball shoe (Nike Bruin). Others
followed with customizing boots for star
players with signature sneakers.
In the US popularity of basketball ensured
high sales especially among young African
Americans men.

15. Cult of fashion
and fitness
After Jane Fonda was injured and could no
longer keep fit with ballet classes, she
rejected going to a gym dominated by
men, and instead decided to promote
home workouts for women. Jane Fonda’s
Workout video sold 17 million copies
ushering a new fashion for fitness &
aerobics.
She exercised barefoot but the new craze
parked the trend for sport sneakers for
women. These sports shoes were not made
for women’s feet but made to attract
women to the product and retailed in their
millions.

16. Celebrity Endorsement
Michael Jordan signed to Nike in
1984 and despite hanging up his
basketball kit in 2003, it is
estimated he grosses $193 million
annually from Jordan Brand,
making him the top earner among
NBA player sneaker deals.
Sneaker deals account for the
majority of off-court earnings for
most NBA players.
Most basketball shoes are worn by kids
that have never been on a basketball court.

17. Bad Boy Trainers
Rubber soled shoes have been
associated with clandestine activity
(sneakers) from the beginning.
When shoe marketing blatantly targeted
inner-city youth to capitalise on the drug
culture there was an outcry.
Suspended trainers or drug shoes started
to appear in many cities as aerial graffiti
marking gang and dealer territories.
In many prisons, in-mates were prevented
from wearing certain trainers because these
could be used to hide contraband.

18. Designer Trainers
(1980s and 90s)
By the 80s, adidas sports label had become
an icon and trainers were not out of place on
the catwalk. Designer trainers by Gucci,
Versace, and Prada graced the feet of the
glitterati and at prices only they could
afford.
Designer trainers were also worn by the
Casuals. A sub-culture of football hooligans,
many with no visible means of income.
These well-dressed thugs organised pitched
battles after football matches across Europe.
Thought by many to herald the beginning of
a drug culture in Europe

19. Street Gangs :
Crips and Bloods
In the 90s Crips and Bloods wore
sneakers as part of gang insignia. In
certain high crime areas, wearing
the wrong coloured sneakers might
get you assaulted or worse.
At first, Bloods wore Reeboks
(Respect Each and Every Blood,
OK?) and their rivals, Crips wore
Adidas trainers (acronym, All Day I
Disrespect Slobs).
Colours play an important role in
gang identifiers with the Crips in
blue and the Bloods in red.

20. Sneakers are de
rigeur on the street
Leading sport shoe companies deliberately
courted the patronage of youth culture and
when Nike released Nike Cortez (named to
honour Hernán Cortés who conquered the
Aztecs), the MS-13. originally from El Salvador,
snapped them up.
In desperation many high schools, colleges and
universities threatened to boycott gang
associated footwear. Recent Law Enforcement
and immigration crackdowns forced the
transnational gang to change their shoe
affiliation.
Emphasis on colours and labels drew too much
attention from the authorities .

21. Thrasher Cult
When counter culture of Sk8rs rejected
the hi-viz sports shoes this created a
real dilemma for large sports shoe
companies, when they refused to buy
their shoes.
Thrashers’ shoes had to protect feet
from twists and turns as well as the
hard asphalt surfaces. They wanted
conservative browns and black made
specifically for skateboarding and sold
through small specialist surfing outlets.

22. Bluechip Trainers
Whilst other sport shoes continue to
evolve with the help of sciences like
biomechanics and sport science, trainers
remains static. New models come and go
with an average shop shelf life of three
months.
Niche marketing with only limited
number of units available create an
artificial demand and retro styles are
always attractive to collectors.
Sneakerheads range from casual fans of
sneaker fashion to those who buy and
sell shoes like blue chip investments.

23. Misleading Adverts
The romantic illusion sport shoes can turn a
sedentary soul into a super athlete has been a
myth for centuries but is still promulgated in
marketing.
Consumer protection laws prevented
companies from deliberately misleading
potential customers but this does not always
result in stop and desist
Legal challenges do however, and generally
there is a major down play overall in shoe
promotions

24. Absence of
Independent Data
Sport shoe industry is highly competitive
and whilst companies spend millions in
Research and Development, the zealously
guard the results.
The absence of shared scientific data
muddies the water with few real
independent studies are ever funded.
Consumers are left to the mercy of
marketing vagaries which rarely bare
scientific scrutiny. Serious athletes are
generally well informed, brand loyal and
less likely to fall for novelty.

25. New and Improved Hype
Fads come and go with the new
focus on safer shoes and injury
prevention. However, is it
possible to know in advance how
to avoid a serendipitous injury?
From all available independent
studies when the shoe is
comfortable and appropriate for
the given activity then that is as
good as it gets. No shoe has yet
ever won a gold medal, that
endeavour is left to the athlete.

26. To the Future
Still a rarefied experienced open to those who
can afford it, but CAD and CAM systems
allow shoes to be customised to client
specification.
This does not however, advance shoe design,
but instead appeals to consumers who would
prefer to have customised shoes.

27. The Next Generation:
Breaking News
The International Space Station
(ISS) US National Laboratory and
adidas have signed a multi–year
agreement to work on product
development in outer space.