Section
Sneakers
Peter Moore drew the Air Jordan 1, and Nike released it in 1985, the same year it put the Dunk on college basketball courts. Two years later Tinker Hatfield cut a window into the midsole of the Air Max 1 so people could see the cushioning. The Converse Chuck Taylor sits here too, with the adidas Superstar and its rubber shell toe, the Vans Old Skool and its side stripe, and the New Balance 990, which arrived in 1982 as one of the first running shoes priced at $100. Stories name the designers, the first colorways and the athletes or scenes that gave each shape its meaning, and they flag the myths that grew up later. The selling side gets equal space. Raffles, app drops, Supreme's Thursday releases and the resale market that turned a pair of Dunks into something people trade like stock all belong in this section.
Stories
Sneakers4 min read
ASICS Gel-Kayano 14 and the Second Life of a 2008 Runner
In 2008 it was the 14th edition of a stability shoe. Twelve years later Kiko Kostadinov pulled it from the archive because it looked faster than the one before it.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
The adidas Superstar and the Shell Toe That Outran the Court
Built in 1969 to pry American basketball away from canvas, the shell toe found its real audience on the street. Then Run-DMC pulled the laces.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
SneakersFeature5 min read
Air Jordan 1, the 1985 Sneaker That Built a Culture
Peter Moore's red, black and white high top turned a rookie endorsement into the most influential sneaker ever made. The ban myth turns out to be the best part.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
New Balance 990 and the $100 Grey Runner That Never Left
In 1982 New Balance put a three figure price on a grey suede runner. Six versions later, the 990 is the shoe the fashion world borrowed from dads.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Nike Air Max 95, Sergio Lozano's Anatomy Lesson in Neon
Sergio Lozano built a running shoe out of a spine, a rib cage and muscle. London named it after its price tag. Tokyo started robbing people for it.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Nike Air Max 1 and the Window That Changed Sneakers
In 1987 Tinker Hatfield cut a hole in a midsole and let everyone see the cushioning inside. The Air Max 1 made engineering the main event.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Nike Dunk History, From College Colors to the Pigeon Riot
The Dunk was a 1985 team shoe that basketball forgot. Skaters, Japanese collectors and Sandy Bodecker's Nike SB turned it into the most hunted sneaker of the 2000s.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66, From Kobe to Kill Bill
A 1960s training shoe, a set of crossed stripes drawn for Mexico City and a yellow pair in a Tarantino film. Even the name is younger than the shoe.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Converse Chuck Taylor and the Salesman Behind the Signature
The All Star came first, in 1917. The name on the ankle patch belonged to a salesman whose playing career was mostly a story he never corrected.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
The adidas Samba, From Frozen Pitches to Every Fashion Week
Adi Dassler built it so footballers could train on frozen ground. Seventy-odd years later a British prime minister had to apologize for wearing a pair.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Nike Air Force 1 and the Baltimore Stores That Saved It
Nike killed the Air Force 1 in 1984. Three shops in Baltimore refused to let it go, and the shoe has barely been out of production since.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
Sneakers4 min read
Vans Old Skool and the Doodle That Became the Sidestripe
In 1977 Vans put a stray line on the side of a skate shoe called Style 36. It turned a small Anaheim shoemaker into a brand you can spot from across a park.
By Quiet Menace Editors /
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