Sneaker Freaks Kick Flip

In the late 1940’s a new phenomenon was introduced into the world of surfing.
Starting with just a group of friends finding a way to practice surfing during times of limited waves, the sport grew to the point that by 2002, 18.5million people were known throughout the world as skateboarders.

As with many sports, the skaters in the off surf periods had their own fashion trends. Conversely, these were kept in the background of the mainstream, like the back hills of California that they carved their way down on a daily basis.

However, over the past few years there has been a sudden and constant rise in the skateboarder fashion. Many companies have always had a strong foothold in the mainstream. Brands such as Famous stars and Straps and Atticus have topped the poll due to their assocation with bands like Blink 182, but in recent months, especially in 2009 many more underground skate companies are rising to the forefront of the fashion world.

Brands such as 10 Deep, LRG, The Hundreds and Supra are now being worn not just by skaters but by many hip hop artists such as Lupe Fiasco and Lil Wayne. With the rise of these artists using these companies and even skaters in their videos, the fashion has now become big business. Stuart Weal, 28, said, “Pharrell Williams may not be able to skate, but since N.E.R.D appeared he is regularly seen in skate wear. The same goes for a number of urban artists.” But it’s not the clothing that made the first transition into the limelight.

Trainers have been the main reason that the fashion has been pushed more and more into the forefront of the mainstream fashion world. Brands such as Nike and Adidas started to make moves to produce trainers for skateboarders, though due to the comfort and style of them many people started to collect them, thus making some trainers rare and collector items.

Some trainers are so rare, that they are starting to be brought by collectors for big money. A pair of Nike SB x Diamond can sell for up to $1500. There are now people that will make a living from selling these rare trainers in shops such as Rare Footage in Reading. Other people like artist Sekure D have now taken to customising trainers and selling them on for a minimum of $400.

Many people will stay up all night queuing for trainers. Even in April of 2009 people queued for 10 hours for a pair of Nikes released by Hip Hop artist Kanye West. Stuart has had his fair share of waiting for trainers. And as summer approaches and more and more trainers are gearing up for release, it seems people will still go to drastic measures to grab a new pair of sneaks. “I have slept for 18 hours in an alleyway to get a pair of Stash Air Force Ones. I've gotten out of bed at 5am a few times for other limited edition pieces.”

This piece was for a magazine design project and whill be adding the page design at a later date.

Ian Mccreery