'The Sports Shoe: A History From Field to Fashion' is a Crep Chronicle For the Ages
Historian and sneaker tragic Thomas Turner has chronicled the sneaker’s rise from the first Victorian tennis shoes all the way to the Nike Air Max and beyond in his new book The Sports Shoe: A History from Field to Fashion.
A meticulously researched illustrated history of the sneaker from the 19th to the 21st century, The Sports Shoe traces the development of the ‘trainer’ against the changing landscape of society, sport, fashion, industry and technology. It’s a tome worthy of even the most sophisticated sneaker nerds.
Covering all bases from the athletic field to the retail shelves, Turner gives us a fresh take on the evolution of the sneaker juggernaut, accompanied by a swag of uncovered archival material and historical imagery of key figureheads, vintage advertisements, and much more.
Get stuck into seven in-depth chapters, including the ‘Lawn tennis and the origins of the modern sports shoe’, ‘Skateboarding and the reimagined sports shoe’, ‘Sneakers, basketball, and hiphop’, and ‘Globalized production, athleisure, and the postmodern sports shoe’, all told with Turner’s infectious passion and enthusiasm.