Sneakers

Women's Sneakers | Men's Sneakers

Sneakers, those shoes that today we wear with ease to go to the gym, to work or even to an elegant dinner, are a symbol of social and cultural evolution. It has not always been this way. Let's start with the name: "sneakers", derived from the English to sneak , which means to move furtively. A name not by chance since the first shoes of this type, with their rubber soles, allowed you to walk without making noise. It was the end of the 19th century when these shoes, called " plimsoll ", appeared in England to satisfy the demand for comfortable shoes for sports and leisure.

Then the Americans arrived and turned everything into a business. It was 1917 when Converse launched the All Star, a shoe intended for basketball, which in 1923 became the famous Chuck Taylor All Star thanks to the player who promoted its diffusion. In the same years Keds began producing canvas and rubber shoes for the masses: simple, cheap and resistant. Here the sneakers-sport combination was born, but also their role as a symbol of accessibility and practicality.

In the 1920s and 1930s, sneakers evolved as technical footwear for athletes. For example, Adidas – founded in Germany by Adolf Dassler – introduced soccer shoes with studs and the first running shoe with a herringbone sole. And then came the big boom: the 1950s, when sneakers left the sports field to become a cultural phenomenon. James Dean wore them in Rebel Without a Cause and they immediately became an icon of youthful rebellion.

In the '70s and '80s, with the rise of hip-hop culture and the explosion of sports marketing, sneakers became a real obsession. Nike revolutionized the industry with the launch of the Air Jordan in 1984, a product that combined technology and design with a star like Michael Jordan. The result? Millions of teenagers - and not only - ready to do crazy things to own them. Meanwhile, brands like Puma and Reebok rode the wave with innovative designs and collaborations with musicians and artists.

Today sneakers are status symbols, collector's items, the most sought-after footwear. Sneakers tell a story of social transformation, rebellion, adaptability. They are the emblem of an era in which the boundary between sport, culture and business is increasingly thin, and our way of walking has become a way of saying who we are.

In short, sneakers are not just shoes. They are the manifesto of modernity, a small piece of history that we wear on our feet. And if you think they are just a passing phenomenon, well, maybe you are forgetting that the world has never stopped. And it walks, faster and faster, with sneakers on its feet.

An interesting curiosity about Sneakers

A fascinating fact about sneakers is the derivation of the term itself.

"Sneaker" comes from the characteristic of these shoes of being so silent that they allow the wearer to move discreetly, like "sneak around" without being noticed.

Keds were the first sneakers to be sold on a large scale, debuting in 1916 as tennis and dance shoes.

The selection of Sabot starts from Hogan, Premiata, Paul Smith, New Balance, DATE and many other brands!

When it comes to Italian sneaker brands, Hogan is definitely one of the most recognized. Founded in 1986 by Diego Della Valle, the brand has achieved success thanks to the combination of elegance and comfort of its shoes.

Premiata , founded in 1885 in Conca dei Marini, is an Italian brand of high quality and uniquely designed shoes.

DATE , born in 2005, focuses on the production of luxury sneakers made from fine materials.

Philippe Model , founded in Paris in 1981, is a luxury brand that offers elegant and high-quality sneakers.

New Balance , this is the iconic balance between style and functionality for those seeking comfort and versatility.

Puraai is the new minimalism, where Italian refinement and craftsmanship blend into a timeless design.

Flower Mountain draws inspiration from nature and Japanese craftsmanship to create unique, eco-friendly sneakers.

For Ash, the sneaker is urban elegance and bold details characterize the sneakers that exude effortless coolness.

Sneaker Collection: Our Case Study!

From January to March 2022, we at Sabot also conducted research on purchasing behavior in the post-Covid footwear sector. It emerges that the sneakers is the shoe mainly purchased online: precisely 70% of respondents chose this option (on a sample of approximately 500 individuals).

During the pandemic, the most affected sectors were classic shoes with a 30% decrease in quantity, while for sneakers the decrease was more limited and around 15%.

For this reason, traditionally elegant brands have had to adapt to the market and create more variants of sneakers, to the detriment of more classic footwear. After sports shoes, some interviewees said they buy décolleté, sandals and combat boots.