Collector Spotlight: Inside @Inside.Tag's Archive
There are no real rules to sneaker collecting. Some people will prefer to set their sights on a certain brand, sport or model, whereas some may dip in and out depending on trends. But others, like , are in it for the hunt. Having graduated from and embraced the obscure on his journey to define his personal style, George Roberts’s collection of archive models has caught the attention of some of the world's biggest sneaker brands, as well as celebs like Lil Yachty. We paid a visit to his London showroom to check out his eclectic collection.
So give us a rundown, what's your name and what are you wearing on foot right now?
My name is George Roberts and I'm from Southwest London. As for what's on foot, I'm wearing the Hender Scheme Air Force 1s.
Let's talk about your collection. Talk us through those stages of how it's evolved.
I mostly grew up on , and – tame shoes that allowed me to fit in with my circle. That changed when I first saw the Nike – they were the weirdest shoes I’d ever seen. The sizes below UK5.5 officially came without the Tabi feature and I didn’t want those rounded-toe ones – my sister already had a pair with a pink Swoosh. Luckily for me, Tooting Market didn’t follow suit with the rules and I was able to grab a fake pair there in a smaller size that had the Tabi toe. I didn’t care that they were fake I just wanted that toe split!
As I got older, my taste continued to evolve around my social circle. My good friend Josh had started to work across the street at Vans, and I felt that he was way ahead of the curve compared to what people my age were wearing. Together, we started to hunt for vintage pairs, trying to outdo each other with our new pickups. We always rolled to the London-based sneaker event Crepe City together. The first one I went to was hosted at the old 1948 Nike store and I bought an original pair of 1991 , which came with the original box and a pamphlet. The Mowabb really made me notice my love for old weird hiking shoes. Following that outdoor trail vibe I found the Nike Air Terra Sertig. They had that hip-hop link and I was into a lot of East Coast rap. I remember seeing a picture of Raekwon wearing a Terra Sertig and then I was like, oh, I've got a pair of those! After my Terra phase, I started looking into more 2000s footwear from brands you wouldn’t initially think of, Etonic, and DKNY – I’d entered the ‘dad shoe’ realm. In 2020, I started to focus on . Their designs really, really opened my eyes up to forward-thinking footwear.
Most people know you as the PUMA guy. What was it about Oakley that caught your attention, and when did PUMA turn your head?
The ethos and energy of Inside Tag is to reward designs from brands that are not deemed necessarily cool. At the time, Oakley had a very dad brand connotation surrounding it, especially in the States. I didn't really see anyone showcasing or selling them my age so there was a huge gap in the market for me. I was just digging up new models, finding them for cheap, and it was exciting, it was fun. It was like a rush. It was the same with , I just carried on digging and looking for weirder stuff. I heard stories about them almost going bust because the moulds were so expensive. To manufacture some of these shoes, you have to spend a lot of money and that's why a lot of brands can't afford to do crazy stuff. But with PUMA, that's just such a special moment in sneaker history that got swept underneath the rug. I’m so pleased I own some of them.
You run your archival page, @inside.tag, as a business too. How do you decide what to keep and what to part with?
I wouldn't say I'm mainly in it to sell but there was a point when people would ask me, 'where'd you get those?' I realised I could make a bit of a business out of it, alongside documenting them on my archival page. I've never posted anything online until I get everything I want in my size so I can keep them, then I start leaking stuff.
Nine times out of ten, the money will go back into something for the archive. I'm sure future me will hate me if I don’t sell a lot soon, but if all fails my sister has a huge loft – thanks Nikki!
What do you think of this archive wave? What do you think has captured people's attention about it?
Archiving opens a natural avenue for informative offerings and I think that's really grabbing people's attention. People are becoming interested in education when it comes to fashion – they want to hear more, learn more and understand why certain items are designed that way. Curations are very tailored and run parallel to personal taste – it's nice when you can see a bit of someone's identity through their archive.
What's been your rarest find so far?
It's one that comes with a story. This shoe here, it's such a weird little caveman shoe. I bought this on eBay and I messaged the guy and I was like, 'What is this? Where did you get it?' He said he ran a trail marathon in 1992 and this was the prize for winning. This was marketed as the first-ever trail running shoe. It's from Avia, who normally specialise in tennis, but it's crazy to know they were delving into the running world and this wasn't documented. But it's so good. I just love it. There's so much to it.
And how about your favourite find?
The PUMA Kugelblitz springs to mind. I bought a pair in a size 12 from my good friends . I sold them and instantly regretted it. One week later, my friend Louie, who works with me, found this pair at the car boot for five pounds. I gave him £100 for them, which is still a really good deal on my behalf.
There's another pair of Nikes I got from a charity shop at the bottom of my road. I'm a UK7.5, true size. This pair is just sitting there and it's seven and a half. I still don't know what the name is and I've never seen another one. Or this SWOP, which came from an AD21 concept store in Tokyo. I hunted for this for so long and had alerts on in case one popped up for sale. One day I got a ping and luckily the pair was my size. It was being sold by a weird Japanese electronics company alongside a bunch of broken parts.
That's quite the mix. Coming back to PUMA, what's your favourite early PUMA model?
I have to say the , specifically the UR. I think it's super unique. The notches on the sole were enhanced and the materials were luxed out with a thin leather overlaying mesh. It gives this really nice x-ray effect and you can see the mesh pushing up through the leather. Searching for the UR is so annoying. It never surfaces – it's the unicorn of the Mostroverse.
Is there a grail you're still searching for?
The word grail has changed so much for me over the years. A grail to me now is the shoe I don't even know about. I hope it's the best shoe from the worst brand ever. It's easy to find rubbish brands making good clothing, but when you find a rubbish brand making good footwear, then for me that's the most amazing thing.
Oh, that's such a fresh way to look at things as well.
I think branding can sometimes be the biggest killer of creativity. Creativity and also your identity. You sell yourself to the brand's logo instead of the designs. I really enjoy being surprised by products that don't align with the brand's ethos.
Are there any pairs in your collection that you'd like to see make a comeback?
Yeah, all of my unwearables. Although I archive, I still try to wear everything. I would really like to have a wearable pair of Shox XT.
Given that so much of your collection is vintage, what would you like to see from the wider sneaker industry going forward?
I would like to see bolder revisits and more considered retros. Every brand has products that are at risk to bring back and I would love to see them leaning on community validators to energise products.
Want to see more from the SF sneaker community? Check out the rest of our .