Even a shoe can have the power to tell a generation. Yes, the last 50 years of history can be traced through the most iconic sneakers of each decade. StockX knows this well, the reselling platform that allows buying and selling streetwear items, which, with 2020 approaching, decided to look back in time, going as far as 1970. With a clear goal: to find the 5 most significant sneakers of the last half century of fashion and culture. Simple? Not at all. But the models selected along this journey through time manage to represent the perfect bridge between sports and streetwear, becoming true milestones in the world of sneakers. Let’s discover them together, preparing a tissue for moments of acute nostalgia. Or, alternatively, the credit card to remedy instantly.
StockX – adidas Stan Smith White Green
1970s – Adidas Stan Smith
A name, a legend, a shoe that is always timeless. This historic model officially originated in 1971, when Adolf Dassler, the founder of the brand, met the athlete of the moment, tennis player Stan Smith in Paris and proposed to design a shoe for him. The result is a completely white leather silhouette, the first in sneaker history. What happens over the years? The shoe becomes more famous than the tennis player himself. A story humorously told by the athlete in the book: “Stan Smith: Some People Think I am a Shoe.”
StockX – Air Jordan 1 Retro Bred
1980s – Air Jordan 1
Basketball is booming, and street style is doing the same. It’s the 1980s, and Nike sets out to conquer the sneaker world by associating with the most famous sportsman around: none other than Michael Jordan. In 1985, the first Air Jordan model is released. Basketball goes beyond neighborhood courts and becomes a global fashion trend. These sneakers, among the most iconic of all time, are made of leather, high to protect the ankles, and in the signature red and black colors of the Chicago Bulls, where Jordan played. A couple of years later, Nike also introduces the Air Max 1, the first with a visible air unit. And the Swoosh brand dominates the decade.
StockX – Reebok Pump Omni Lite Dee Brown Black
1990s – Reebok The Pump
Although Reebok officially released this model in 1989, its legendary Pump gained recognition only starting from 1991 when young Dee Brown made history in basketball and sneakers by outperforming Shawn Kemp in the Nba Slam Dunk Contest. Surprisingly, Dee decided to use the Pump technology for his Omni Lite: the victory in the dunk contest, witnessed by the whole world, leaves an indelible mark in history. And his shoes do the same.
StockX – Nike Dunk SB High De La Soul
2000s – Nike SB Dunks
The Nike Dunk was born in 1985 as another attempt to link basketball and street style, but it was immediately adopted and embraced by the skateboarding community. This led Nike to redesign the silhouette of this sneaker in 2002, making it more suitable for its new target audience, effectively creating the first skateboarding line: a choice initially met with skepticism by many brand fans but proved to be a huge success. This was followed by a series of collaborations with the world of design, sport, art, and music, making this shoe the perfect canvas to express creativity.
StockX – adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Turtledove
2010s – Adidas Yeezy Boost 350
Kanye West leaves Nike, switches to historic rival brand Adidas, and creates the Yeezy line, leaving the world in awe. Over the years, the musician/producer/rapper becomes one of the most important contributors to contemporary culture linking his art with the sneaker world. The 350 Boost silhouette, in the meantime, becomes ubiquitous on the streets of cities worldwide: a shoe that looks to the future without fear, and for this reason becomes an icon.
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