From the streets to the runway, we love sneakers

You don’t have to be a parent on the receiving end of fervent pleas for $200 Nikes, Pumas or fill-in-the-blanks to know that, for most young shoppers, sneakers are more than sturdy, practical footwear for PE class and school sports.

They’re a lifestyle choice … a statement about their identity … an essential building block of personal style.

“In modern mass culture, people need tribes to give them a sense of group identity,” said Michael Cunningham, a psychologist and professor of communication at the University of Louisville. “Sneakers are an easy way to declare affiliation.”

Are you a hipster? Athlete? Prep? Artist? There’s a sneaker for that.

And their stylistic significance has trickled up from the schoolyards and streets. This fall, designers such as Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Rachel Zoe and Michael Kors paired the comfy shoes with elegant suits, work dresses and evening wear. That means on a quick walk-though of local shoe departments, you’ll spot sparkling, velvet, printed, quilted, fur-trimmed and otherwise tricked-out but comfy versions of this once utilitarian shoe.

Not that this juxtaposition is completely new. Betsy Johnson and Vivienne Westwood were pairing high tops with chiffon in the early ’90s. But the takeaway from fall runways is clear: The sneaker has become firmly planted in the wardrobes of working and socializing adults as well as sporty and not-at-all sporty kids – sneakers are a shoe for how everyone lives now.

It wasn’t always that way, according to the new exhibit Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture at the Speed Art Museum, a spectacular collection of over 150 sneakers, photographs and film footage chronicling the evolution of the shoe. (Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture runs through Nov. 27.)

“The sneaker began as footwear for the recreational pastimes of the elite,” said chief curator Scott Erbes. “But it evolved with the democratization of sports and ended up inverting the traditional design paradigm so that street fashion was being used as inspiration by high-end designers.”

And while there’s plenty of marketing behind its ubiquitous appeal, there are also some interesting societal shifts driving it, too. After all, there’s a certain in-your-face defiance of traditional feminine roles in the pairing of running shoes rather than heels with an evening gown.

“Wearing sneakers says I’m active and powerful and moving forward,” said Anita Barbee, professor and Distinguished University Scholar at Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. “I’m going to wear something that makes it easier for me to move rather than wearing a shoe that makes it hard to walk. It’s a way of saying ‘I’m not just here to look good.’”

In other words, the rethinking of the sneaker as a woman’s fashion shoe is a feminist statement that’s being embraced by mass culture. And there’s another kind of acceptance signaled by the move of sneakers from playing fields to runways: It’s a sign of the legitimization and even fascination with street and urban culture or what Cunningham called “the interest in urban culture as the source of creativity.”

The popularity of the shoes might also say something about our aspirations.

“Some people wear the shoes because they actually are athletes, while others wear them because they hope that wearing the shoes will make them get out there and do it,” Barbee said.

Still, others may be subconsciously hoping that slipping on a celebrity-endorsed shoe lets them try on a little of someone else’s success.

“The culture continues to love success stories,” Cunningham said, “and wearing the shoes of successful people allows the audience to bask in reflected glory.”

All while basking in the comfort of technologically-enhanced cushy interiors, springy soles and supportive arches. And, let’s face it, for many that may be reason enough to call these shoes a must-have.

All student models appear courtesy of Heyman Talent. Reach Christine Fellingham at [email protected]

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