I Bought this book off Amazon ... it's a bit of a crap book (it costs a lot, it is not particularly well edited and I am not sure how reliable it is in terms of dates), but it gives one very interesting insight: all major sneaker brands are very old and have bags of heritage. For example:
- The sneaker was so-called for its noiseless quality when it was first made with elastic rubber soles. In 1892 GoodYear manufactures Keds, the first sneaker (I think) with a vulcanized rubber sole.
- Converse is really old. It was founded in 1908 by Marquis M Converse. The Converse All Star was designed in 1917 (although somewhere else in the book it says 1915). In 1918 (end of WW1!) it was endorsed by basketball player Charles "Chuck" Taylor, who later joins the Company. His signature is added to the star patch on the shoe in 1923. In 1935 Converse releases the Jack Purcell (badminton world champion). It's a wonderful shoe.
- Adidas was founded in 1920 by Adi Dassler. In 1948 Adi falls off with his brother Rudolf, who goes on to found Puma.
- In 1962, Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman start Blue Ribbon Sport (BRS). Initially they import Onitsuka Tiger to the US, later they start manufacturing their own shoes. Nike is established in the early 70's. In 1971 the Nike swoosh logo is purchased for US$35 from an Oregon University design student (she will later be rewarded with an undisclosed amount of Nike shares). In 1972 Bill Bowerman pours rubber into his wife's waffle iron, creating the basis for the popular Nike Waffle Racer. She must have been pissed off!
Having read the book, I was curios to find out what these brands are up to today. Particularly, I was interested in finding out how this wealth of brand heritage is managed nowadays. I took a trip down to central London. Without pretending to give a thorough analysis, here are a few random thoughts:
- Nike Town is in Oxford Street, just opposite the tube entrance. It can't be missed. Needless to say it is a masterpiece of brand display. Several sports showcased in different sections of the store: rugby, running, tennis, golf and there is a whole section dedicated to female athletes.
- Very interesting to see how Nike might perhaps be abandoning their exclusive focus on sport to enter the territory of style (I don't dare call it fashion) with two major sections of the store: the Sports Culture Section (which revisits the historical Nike products such as the AF1 in a modern key) and the Nike ID studio. I would love to discuss this with a Nike brand manager.
- Nike ID studio is just brilliant. It's multi-level glass environment in the middle of the store, in which you can design your own shoe. It's essentially the same concept of the online Nike ID, with the benefit of having a personal design consultant helping you through the motions and showing you samples of the materials you can work with. This is my creation. It retails for £80.00. The white bit is fake snake!
- Round the corner from Oxford Street, in Carnaby Street, you'll find a small Onitsuka Tiger shop and a larger Puma shop. The recurring elements are: 1) Colour and style over sport (particularly with Onitsuka Tiger) and 2) Very explicit references to the brands' heritage (with historic models on display under glass cabinets for Onitsuka). I leave thinking that the tree brands are blurring into the same space. Again, would love to discuss it with the above brand manager.
- Converse stands out. I found a small branded shop next to a multi-brand retailer. Like the other shops, there are plenty of references to the brand's heritage: vintage pictures around the shop, historic models like the All Star, One Star and the beautiful Purcell (I am tempted to attribute all this to the new Nike ownership). However, whereas the other three brands are all somehow blurring into the same sort of 70's-80's retro-colorful style, Converse style is somehow Punk-rocking. You may like it or not, but the Converse brand is definitely the undisputed master in its own space. I resist the temptation to part with £40 for a 90-years-old shoe.
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