| Kicks
By Patryk Fournier June 27th, 2005 |
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When I was 10 I learned an early lesson that a basketball shoe is much more than a pair of athletic kicks when my pair of 'Hoops' were mistaken for a pair of Black Air Jordan IV's. Unbeknownst to me my pair of generic Hoops were a dead ringer for Air Jordans except without the price tag. I had never even heard of Air Jordans before this, but within days of wearing the shoes to school, kids much older than me were inviting me to play in their pickup games. Kids would bring their friends up to me saying things like "You've got to see this kid's shoes. They're awesome!" That was my introduction to the world of basketball shoes. Since then I've watched the business and cultural phenomenon of kicks explode to the point where Air Jordan's are now in their 20th year, kids line up overnight to get their hands on the latest release, vintage and celebrity endorsed shoes have become the latest and most popular trend and violent muggings and killings are committed solely because people lust after these shoes so much. Unlike other sports like hockey, football, baseball or soccer, basketball is the one sport where the athletic shoes are transferable off the court and it's that versatility that has made basketball shoes a cultural and status symbol above their initial purpose as athletic footwear. Basketball shoes are a big business that makes up a massive $16.4 million USD sneaker industry. Nike is the most dominant player in the industry, raking in around $12 billion last year. As much as the basketball shoe industry has evolved there has been one constant over the past 20 years; Michael Jordan and more specifically Air Jordans. Despite his retirement(s) his shoe sale popularity has never wavered. Year-in and year-out his shoes are amongst the best sellers. They're always on shoe aficionados "must have" lists. In fact Nike had to move back the launch date to Saturdays each year because too many kids were skipping school during the week to line-up for the latest Air Jordan launch. As ridiculous as it may seem to some to lineup for basketball shoes, try telling that to the shoe collectors subculture that has been created out of vintage and limited edition shoe releases. Consider for a moment that people in Cleveland and Chicago were recently willing to camp out for up to four days just to get a $90 pair of limited edition LeBron James 'Chamber of Fear' sneakers and you'll get a sense for how much of a market there is for collectible shoes. Of course the advent of EBay has legitimized the whole trading and selling of shoes as collectors and sellers flock to the online hawk shop and pay/sell shoes for up to 10 times their original price.
The shoe companies have recognized this subculture and have aimed new launches to capitalize on this. Shoe companies are constantly releasing limited edition shoes in different colour variations and going back to the archives following the throwback jersey model and releasing vintage shoes in the same just to give shoe fanatics something unique that very few others will have. A few years ago Nike experimented with pricing Air Jordan XVII's at a $200 USD price tag and packaged them in a silver Halliburton style briefcase. Chris Webber's infamous all-star game chrome CDubbz DaDa shoes were sold and packaged in drawstring velour bags complete with individual numbering 1-1000. The best part about these shoes? The company actually provided a warning to consumers to not wear the shoes because the chrome surface would crack - the shoes were meant solely as a novelty item. From the days of Chuck Taylor's, and Run DMC-popularized Adidas shell-toe's to the Michigan Fab 5 combining black socks with Nike Air Max's, there has been a certain status and image that can be made with the right pair of kicks, unfortunately the importance placed on these athletic shoes have also made them the target of violence. Been bangin since my boy Rob got killed for his Barkley's That's 10 years I told Pooh in 95' I'd kill you if you try me for my Air Max 95s.
Lyrics from The Game's "Love it of Hate it" are a reality in a lot of neighbourhoods. I remember growing up and having one my friends get mugged downtown for his new Air Flights. Muggings are happening all over the place, especially in low-income areas where basketball thrives. Of course a mugging is the least of your worries in these neighbourhoods when murder is a much more likely response of someone taking your shoes. To a certain extent shoe companies are at fault for building hype and marketing shoes as "must have" status symbols to neighbourhoods that can't afford them. When Nike set the price for Air Jordans at $200 I guarantee there was a correlated spike in violence when the big shoe conglomerate out priced their consumer market. If you instill a product as a must have in a consumer's mind (especially status setting products like shoes in urban areas) then people will find a way to uphold their status by any means necessary. Unfortunately if shoe companies continue this trend more kids will be found dead with the motive for their death clearly written across their bare feet. In Part 2 next week I'll examine the trend of celebrity endorsed shoes, the sneaker wars played out between the shoe companies to land the next big pitchman and the methods companies use to build demand for their latest shoe releases.
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