As many of us know, shoes have always been a popular item of purchase in the fashion world, both for women and men. However, over the past few decades, sneakers specifically have become a subject that borders the line between fashion and art.

Much of this change has come from influences in the hip-hop world as well as the Fine Art world.

In the 1980's sneakers became a very popular item of conversation. Between Nike's release of the Air Jordan 1 in '85 between and the rise of Adidas popularized by RUN DMC's "My Adidas" in '86, both of these events helped spark the battle between the two now giant brands.

Since it's release, Nike has produced 31 variations of the Air Jordan, becoming one of the most popular sneaker brands between ballers and non-ballers alike. Besides producing 31 different variants, many of the Jordan iterations continue to be released in different colorways, appealing to a wide range of audiences. Additionally, over the past decade, Jordan has produced multiple collaborations with graffiti artists like KAWS as well as "high fashion" brands like Supreme. Nike itself originally partnered with musical artist Kanye West to produce 3 iterations of designs by the artist before West parted ways with the brand in 2013. "The Ten" by Virgil Abloh

Recently, Nike is most famous for partnering with artist and creator of the OFF WHITE clothing brand, Virgil Abloh to create "THE TEN," a collection of ten of Nike's most famous sneaker concepts redesigned by the artist in his signature style. Prices for these limited sneakers averaged for around $2,000, and are reselling for over double the retail price.

Nike's top competitor, Adidas, has also had it's own set of artistic and signature releases.

Upon his parting with Nike, Kanye West partnered with Adidas and began releasing a new set of sneakers under the same name from his Nike releases, YEEZY. The Adidas concept of the YEEZY series has also had multiple iterations, including the 750, 350, and currently most popular, the v2. These styles have also been released in multiple colorways, each producing more sneakers than the last in order to keep up with the increasing demand for the shoe. Adidas has also sponsored West's YEEZY fashion line. Undoubtedly, although the rarity and price of Nike's products surpass that of it's competitor, the YEEZY v2 is one of the most popular sneakers of this decade, and quite frankly, this era.

Aside from the highly popular YEEZY line, Adidas has also partnered with fashion brands like A Bathing Ape and other artists like musician Pharrell Williams with it's Human Race collection.

Aside from these two competing brands, a new wave of "sneakerheads" have created a new aspect of the sneaker world: the custom. Artists and painters far and wide have come to the call of the masses seeking to design their own colorways and designs on the silhouettes of their favorite sneakers and one brand, Angelus Direct, has come to the call of these creators. One look at their Instagram tells the amazing feats of artists creating sneakers of their client's dreams, including specifically those of famous athletes, such as Carolina Panther's wide receiver Devin Funchess and New York Giant's wide receiver and sneakerhead, Odell Beckham Jr.

Regardless of your brand of choice, if you spend your hours of social media checking shoe reseller websites like Flight Club, scrolling though sneaker Instagram pages, or checking the next release date of your favorite sneaker, you can surely call yourself a certified Sneakerhead.