Sniker or sneaker, this is how it’s written
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by Filippo Piva

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Athletic shoes, but also for walking, suitable for sports activities, but also for leisure. And especially with a strong, very strong fashionable connotation. In one word: sneakers, the quintessence of the millennial spirit to wear on your feet. A term that has now rightly entered common jargon, twisted by some as “sneackers,” with the addition of a “ck” that unnecessarily winks at snacks, and by some Italianized as “snichers” and the like. Yes, because only by knowing the etymology of the word can every doubt about its correct spelling be dispelled.

The term “sneakers” actually dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century, and comes directly from the tennis courts, referring to the verb “to sneak”, to do something secretly, to slip in. One of its earliest official appearances was in the Boston Journal in 1887, where it was used to indicate how young tennis players called their more modern footwear: the rubber sole made the impact with the playing surface much quieter than the traditional leather sole, making the shoe perfect for not being heard. To sneak in here and there, in other words.

The word was then popularized by some advertisements at the dawn of the twentieth century, and became the official way to refer to all those particularly versatile sports shoes, which could also be worn outside of a sports context. From there, a path lined with legendary brands and new conquests, with sneakers gradually managing to carve out their own place even in the most elegant outfits, and often transforming into some of the most prestigious/expensive/famous elements of many collections. Marking an almost definitive transition from the tennis court to the catwalk, and becoming the queens of streetwear and online shopping.