Aging, Distressing or Destroying?
Having dirty sneakers has never been something that people who deem themselves to be “sneakerheads” would consider to be something that they support because the goal is to have the freshest kicks, not the dirtiest. But as of late we have seen a great change in the way that people look at dirty covered shoes. For a long time companies like Golden Goose has been the leader in selling a shoe that is made to look like it has been through plenty of wear and tear. Coming in at the starting price of $495 and can run you the upper cost of $1020 for thier canvas version of the shoe. In my opinion I believe that this is just a way for the privileged to be able to attempt to seem relatable while also creating barriers of some sort. My reason to saying that Is because dirty shoes normally entails a few things but one of the most common reasons for someone having dirty sneakers is because they may not be able to get new shoes at the moment so they have to wear what they have. And when you see a pair of Golden Gooses you’re essentially looking at a scuffed up pair of stan smiths with a large price stage.
Past the craze of the Golden Goose sneaker and with the shutting down of the world to Covid many plenty of sneaker customizers have taken to this loving of the aged look that man older shoe get from sitting in their boxes for too long.
Cracked Leather
Yellows outsoles
Faded Laces
Have taken the social media timelines by storm. During the lock down there was a wave the release of the Chicago Bulls documentary “The Last Dance caused an uproar of sales on the original 1985 Jordan 1. And many for those who could not pay the heavy price of $1000 for the shoe on ofter market sites decided that it was time to find a way to make their newer Jordan 1s look like they were from the 80s. This trend has been received with open arms in some parts of the community of sneaker culture. Thos ehwo grew up in the 80s to early 2000s collecting their shoes and trying to keep them clean and scuff proof feel as if people who are actively “destroying” new shoes are insane and doing things for shock value. Then there is the side of sneaker Enthusiasts who see it as just another way to express one’s self, similar to the trend of cartoon drawing customs that plagued sneakers from a few years ago. But in a more niche approach because still in some way this is a game for those who have the money to pay someone to distress their pairs.
With the trend of people wanting to be able to take part in the distressing of sneakers. Companies have paid much attention and thier designers have decided to take their own approach at offereing consumers their favorite products with an aged spin to it without the need to destroying the materials. By doing this companies are able to stay in front of the trends by making these sneakers in a larger quantity than one sneaker customizer could ever do. Collaborations with the late Virgil Abloh has given birth to four renditions of Jordan classics with distressed or deteriorating features. Before that Nike collaborated with Famed Nigel BMXER Sylvester on a distressed AJ1 that was a call back to what his riding shoes look like (storytelling). By doing collaborations like these Nike is able to make it seem like these releases aren’t meant to be on trend but they are calculated and are watching the trends. Companies know that most people do not care much about personality and expression of themselves like those who are doing the distressing with their own hands and want to be able to just be a part of the trend.
