Since I was young, I have always been interested in streetwear and footwear. I got made fun of for wearing sneakers, or "boy shoes", more than I wore flip-flops and sparkly pink shoes. But I never let that stop me from buying more. I have built my sneaker collection to over 30 pairs…and that's not even close to how many shoes I dream of owning. However, the past has barely considered women a part of sneaker culture, as it has been aimed predominantly towards men, full of men's sizes and designs. This has forced women who love shoes into buying men's shoes (if they can even find a pair that small). Through keeping up with the newest releases and designers, I am starting to see that sneaker culture is shifting towards women. Over the past few years, we have seen brands such as Nike and Adidas designing and releasing more shoes specifically for women by women. So, ladies, it's our time to shine as the sneakerheads we are.
Nike and Jordan, specifically, are targeting women by releasing designs just for us now, even in girly colors such as pink and purple. Women can find now find a wide variety of Jordan's and Air Force Ones in women's sizes. Bella Hadid leads the Nike Cortez campaign and we have seen a Jordan collaboration from stylist Aleali May. Nike even unveiled a female-focused retail concept called "Unlaced" during Paris Fashion Week. Luckily, this is only the start. Adidas is also on the come up, not only for hot new shoes but for hot new women's shoes. They have been releasing many shoes designed by women for women. For example, Kylie Jenner and her shoe campaign Falcon for Adidas. Rhianna for PUMA made waves in designing trending shoes just for women, especially because PUMA was irrelevant. More female influences are emerging and making their mark in the sneaker world. Even Nike thinks that female sneakerheads are the future.
With more and more designs and diversity of women's shoes, it is the prime opportunity to get into sneakers. Your options are only expanding. But don't forget about the old classics as well. It's inspiring how female influencers are using their platform to shine a light onto women's shoes. For example, the YouTube show "Complex Goes Sneaker Shopping With..." stars Joe La Puma while he takes celebrities high-end collectible sneaker shopping. One episode stars Halsey, an empowering female artist who also loves shoes. Or in breaking news, Meghan Markle wore Veja "trainers", costing $130 and breaking headlines...because she was wearing sneakers. Cute sneakers at the least.
"Nowadays we're seeing increasing numbers of fantastic women not only wearing sneakers in any setting but making meaningful contributions to the growth and direction of sneaker culture. To us, this is empowering because it is defying "gender" lines and carving out space for women in a sphere that has been restrictive for a very long time." (say She.lace founders Jamila Husbands, Kiah Welsh and Travis Pereira)
Sneaker culture is becoming more accommodating of and trending towards women…it's taken long enough. We can attribute this to the rise in popularity of streetwear as well. Shoes are a way to express your style and an essential to complete every outfit. Women have an equal chance to buy and own an even wider variety of sneakers than ever before. And luckily, this is only the beginning of women in sneaker culture.
