[The Sabbaticus]

How a sexist sneaker culture turned men into fashion addicts

The front rows at menswear shows are, as one might expect, dominated by male editors and retailers, stylists and celebrities. And during New York Fashion Week: Men’s, which begins July 13, if you look down at their feet, you will see a single line of painstakingly selected, shamelessly expensive, overtly fetishized sneakers.

“Men’s fashion is being transformed from the feet up,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack who, as senior curator at The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, is unquestionably biased about the importance of shoes to the overall understanding of a man’s vision of himself. But that doesn’t mean that she is wrong.

Sneakers have allowed men to flourish as peacocks — changing the mood and quickly adding flair to tailored suits, skinny jeans, baggy leggings and even tuxedos.

In recent years, men have eased into all manner of new, flamboyant plumage by way of an accessory that is firmly embedded in the quintessential cliches of sports, athleticism and masculinity. Sneakers are entrenched in the cult of boys, so much so that they occupy a different status than mere shoes, which are associated with women. Shoes, Semmelhack said, are what women are derisively described as obsessing about. Women are considered to be unhealthy shoe-a-holics — ruled by an insatiable and hysterical attachment to sling-backs, stilettos and mules.

“We don’t consider sneakers to be feminine. Therein lies the essential difference,” Semmelhack said. “Sneaker collecting, done by many men, is [described] in the tradition of other male collecting, like baseball cards and fine wines. It’s about having every single one in every single model. Female buying is ’emotional'; male buying is posited as rational. But emotion is just as wrapped up in sneakers.”

That sort of unspoken sexism is one of the many themes Semmelhack explores in “The Rise of Sneaker Culture,” an exhibition that opens at the Brooklyn Museum on July 10.

The exhibition looks back at sneaker history — to some of the first running shoes, as well as the introduction, in the 19th century, of status and privilege into the conversation surrounding sneakers. Early on, sneakers helped define social hierarchies, Semmelhack said. The first sneakers that were intended for the average person, and not a professional athlete, were inspired by such rarefied pursuits as lawn tennis.

By World War II, sneakers were connected to the ideal of “physical perfection in service to the state,” with the Nazi regime hosting sweeping outdoor exhibitions boasting of athletic prowess. In the years following the war, sneakers became part of kid culture as physical education settled into the elementary school curriculum.

In the 1970s, with the rise of Nike and later, in the 1980s, with the success of its Air Jordan models, sneakers became inextricably linked to fashion tribes and entertainment — spawning a host of social pressures for teens to have just the right shoe.

The advent of Casual Friday provided an opening for sneakers to enter the workplace. For many men, it was an unsettling transition. Having been told not to wear their work-day uniform of a business suit, they suddenly were asked to find a new way of dressing that involved bringing aspects of their weekend selves — their downtime selves — into the office, Semmelhack said. Men had to be — could be — more creative. And the fashion industry responded with countless luxury-branded sneakers and celebrity collaborations. Sneakers helped men step into the fashion system on their own terms.

Washington Times

Who in their right mind collects 'sneakers'? The only example that springs to mind is American hip hop 'artists'. And these people tend to be degenerate consumerists of the gaudy 'waving their cash around' variety. Anyway, through some involution of thought this would amount to sexism. And 'casual Friday' is to blame.

Progressive America strikes again.

[Decky]

I always said this would happen. Capitalism has squeezed everything it can out of women. They but fucking expensive clothes, fucking expensive makeup and are bombarded with adverts telling them to hate themselves. Capitalism has squeezed everything it an out of women and men will be next.

I like being judged on what I do not what I look like/ how I dress but I fear men and women will have equality soon. Capitalism will try and reduce men to the same place it has reduced women. You can even hear bricklayers labourers boasting about how expensive their designer clothes are these days. These people should epitomise real "I don't give a fuck" men and yet capitalism is ensnaring even them.

[mikema63]

There have been cases in the poorer areas of the US of teenagers killing other teens to steal their sneakers. I went to highschool with people who would carry around sneakers and not wear them most of the time for fear of scratching them.

[Saeko]

I always said this would happen. Capitalism has squeezed everything it can out of women. They but fucking expensive clothes, fucking expensive makeup and are bombarded with adverts telling them to hate themselves. Capitalism has squeezed everything it an out of women and men will be next.

I like being judged on what I do not what I look like/ how I dress but I fear men and women will have equality soon. Capitalism will try and reduce men to the same place it has reduced women. You can even hear bricklayers labourers boasting about how expensive their designer clothes are these days. These people should epitomise real "I don't give a fuck" men and yet capitalism is ensnaring even them.

History of Empires:

Year 0: "Look at how many battles I fought."
Year 100: "Look at how many slaves I've got."
Year 200: "Look at how much money I spent on these shoes I bought."
...
Year 500: "I wish I could afford some shoes."

[anna]

Who in their right mind collects 'sneakers'?

No one that I know.

Having said that, consumerism numbs the brain, stifles individuality and leads to unnecessary FOMO.

[snapdragon]

I like being judged on what I do, not what I look like/ how I dress

So do I, but it doesn't work. You need to tart yourself up a bit to get any interest from the opposite sex.

At first, anyway. My partner nearly took to the hills when he called unexpectedly after I'd been cleaning out the gutters shortly after we'd first met.

These days he doesn't turn a hair at my "shining, morning face". But it took a while.

[Bridgeburner]

Capitalism has squeezed everything it an out of women and men will be next.

Pushing LGBTI+ on straight men has the effect of creating males that have spending habits more in line with women, with incessant outlay and expenditure on fashion, clothing, makeup, etcetera. Social engineering is all embarked on with the explicit goal of profit-maximization.

I like being judged on what I do not what I look like/ how I dress but I fear men and women will have equality soon. Capitalism will try and reduce men to the same place it has reduced women. You can even hear bricklayers labourers boasting about how expensive their designer clothes are these days. These people should epitomise real "I don't give a fuck" men and yet capitalism is ensnaring even them.

Basically metrosexual urban culture. I've observed it happen in white-collar culture, surprised your blue-collar experience has been like that, the trades were a refuge for me. The more men turn effeminate and effete like this, the lower their capacity for violence, the ultimate determinant of social change.

You know, I've really come around to tankies and even maoists. Alain De Benoists misquote comes to mind "Better to wear the helmet of a Red Army soldier,than to live on a diet of hamburgers in Brooklyn".

[Decky]

Maoism is too far, stick with Stalinism (I think Hoxhaism is actually even more interesting these days) and you won't go far wrong.

[LV-GUCCI-PRADA-FLEX]

You all are insane. Fashion has always been real for both men and women. Just because it didn't take the consumerist form doesn't mean that people didn't care how they looked or dress, and that includes all types of men, not just upper class. What, you think your grandparents didn't fuck or want to attract someone or something? The first story in the bible is about people eating fruit that made them realize they want to put on some pants. Tribes all over the planet do all sorts of rituals that are designed to attract a mate by altering either makeup, piercing, accessory, tattoo, clothing, etc.

I hate this idea that just because you personally don't care about something means that nobody should care. I don't go around calling people's comic book collections stupid just because I don't understand them. If you fail to see the comparison because of resale value, know that there are plenty of articles of clothing, and in particular "sneakers" or more generally shoes carry a lot of resale value. In arguing from a place of obvious ignorance they failed to realize that shoes are not derided in the male shoe culture itself but more usually by people who would criticize collecting shoes in general.

Myself I have many shoes, but I bought most second hand at thrift stores and am not interested in buying any of the more expensive shoes because I think they are a rip off. I do understand that there is good money in resale selling to stupid hypebeasts that have to go for the latest trends. Personally I enjoy the self-expression that comes with fashion but think that some people use it as a way to show off rather than because they actually like dressing like that. However a lot of those people tend to overshadow the less vocal majority that just wants to look good in their own way.

[Rugoz]

You all are insane.

This is POFOOOO!!!

I always said this would happen. Capitalism has squeezed everything it can out of women.

Clearly pre-capitalist societies never "squeezed" anything out of women.