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Good-old sneakers have swept many Indian millennials off their feet. The humble shoe, which was once only an athlete’s favourite, has become an unlikely fashion giant. In the past two decades, worldwide, love for sneakers has grown so much that ‘sneakerheads’ are a ‘legit’ community today; in India too, the trend has caught on and the sneakerhead culture is pretty mainstream in the country’s metros with the passion for this footwear having a cult, culture and cosmos of its own.
Filmmaker, photographer and a sneakerhead in Bengaluru, Nandith Jaisimha says: “My sneaker obsession started with my love for basketball and Michael Jordan. My mum gifted me my first pair of Adidas basketball shoes when I was 13 years old... Now, I have close to 120 pairs.”
Apart from the shoes, basketball, Michael Jordan and hip hop seem to be the lace that binds sneakerheads together. Another enthusiast, James Raleigh Thomas — a software engineer by day and sneakerhead all-day — proclaims that his passion for shoes was a result of his love of basketball and hip hop.
“I am more into basketball sneakers than the casual ones. My favourite shoes of all time are the Jordan 6 infrared. They are special to me because they were made in 1991, the year I was born and the year Michael Jordan won his first championship. My Jordan 6 have a story to tell and that’s what makes them iconic,” says James, who has been collecting sneakers for almost a decade and owns 60-odd pairs.
Though India has arrived late to the culture, celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor and Anand Ahuja have made the ‘shoe-thing’ a mainstream trend. The best ones do come with a price as James, whose plugs (see box) are mostly friends abroad, informs that though there is a growing sneaker culture in India, the releases are not as frequent as in the US. Also, one can’t be on a shoestring budget when it comes to the real deal in sneakers.
James says that it’s much better to buy shoes from the US because one can save a lot: “If I’m buying a pair of kicks from the US it would cost about $200 or Rs 14,000, but the same shoes in India would cost anywhere around Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000.” Being a sneaker lover also means being ready to spend on its maintenance and entrepreneurs are leaving no shoe unturned to milk this market. There are emerging Indian brands that sell products to clean, de-odourise and shine these prized possessions.
Nandith makes sure that he cleans his shoe rack every month and ensures that his shoes aren’t weathered and attacked by fungi. And now that the lockdown has given him ample amount of time, he has cleaned, sorted and made some space in his ‘vault’ to house more sneakers.
The brotherhood is evident in the sneakerhead community; both Nandith and James are part of Sole Culture, Bengaluru, which organises sneaker convention and events. “I have met a lot of like-minded sneakerheads of all age groups at Bengaluru sneaker meets and we have all become good friends over time. This is not just a boys’ thing, there are many women sneakerheads too. The sneakerhead culture in India is growing at a fast pace and so is the community,” says Nandith.
Pandemic dampener?
Though the world is under the shadow of the pandemic, sneakerhead culture continues, albeit with some riders.
Both Nandith and James inform that there have been a lot of sneaker drops going on but most of them online and not in-store due to the current situation. “I had brought a couple of pairs before the lockdown from abroad and they couldn’t ship them down. The ones that were shipped reached me after three months. In the meantime, I wasn’t even sure if I will get them,” says Nandith, who laments that there hasn’t been any group gathering in the past three months.
A brotherhood of sorts
Trust, brotherhood and the enthusiasm for sneakers bind the community as James explains: “Though the releases were limited, the products were sold. Many people that I know, haven’t received the shoes that they have bought two months ago. But, they will wait. Nothing is stopping us from buying. I bought three shoes this month (June). In May, I bought LeBron 7. I received it after a month and a half. Stores are delivering now between 4-7 days, but during the lockdown, they had a clear disclaimer that they would do so only once the lockdown is lifted.”
The online platforms did get a boost during the lockdown, but sneakerheads do miss their routine.
“We weren’t going outside and we were not able to wear our shoes (during the lockdown). The situation has affected the way we buy shoes. We usually like to go to the store, wear them and bring them home,” says James. Release of ‘grails’ have also been delayed due to the virus.
As James explained, every shoe that is released online has a certain number of pairs assigned to the store and if a kick was released during the lockdown and was sold-out, there is still the store-release stock and this opens up opportunity for those who have missed out. Connections are the key and store managers are the go-to people for these queries.
Muted celebrations
Like any other much-desired product, sneakers are celebrated and a product release is an event that sneakerheads look forward to greatly. Celebrities are called and stores put up posters and prepare for the day as it’s no less than any festival. This year, the festivities were missing and the Air Max Day was a dry one with enthusiasts celebrating it online with pictures.
Although the online buying process finishes in a matter of seconds, leaving the shoe in high demand at the stores, the fact that even the stores were shut during the lockdown, to avoid large gatherings, brought out the distress.
“There was a drop in the morning and it was sold out. Some stores held it thinking they will sell them in the store, but the corona situation never ceases. There was no point holding on to the pair, and last week, the stores released them online and the shoes were sold out within seconds,” says James.
What gives?
Where does the passion for sneakers stem from? This enthusiasm that doesn’t seem to get bogged down by troubles? This never-ending hunt for Grails?
Dr Sulata Shenoy, director of Turning Point centre for psychological assessments, therapies and counselling, says: “The earlier generations were into collecting items like rare watches or ivory carvings. This was as a status symbol. Whether you are collecting watches, sneakers or red feathers, it is human tendency to have a sense of belonging to one exclusive group from whose membership and association, one draws their identity. A few years earlier, if you had a big collection of rare shoes, nobody would bother. But now it’s recognised. If some kind of prestige is attached to an object, people covet that.”
Fashion designer Riyaz Pasha opines that the appeal of sneakers lies in the comfort which they provide.
“They are never out of fashion. When I design a wardrobe for my client, many ask for sneakers and they are always included,” he says.
Influencers and critics too
Sneaker brands in India are taking sneakerheads seriously now and many sneakerheads also double up as influencers, reviewers and critics.
Nandith says that his family used to wonder why he wastes money on shoes, but have now accepted it as a culture and a lifestyle and are aware that many people follow him and brands want to work with him. It’s not just the sneakers, due to the culture, the ancillaries also have evolved to become business models on their own like sneaker boxes, maintenance products, YouTube channels, online lotteries (raffles) and socks.
James wishes that someone soon comes up with low-cost sneaker boxes with UV protection and front openings. There you go, entrepreneurs, put on your sneakers and let your feet, we mean imagination, run wild!
What about the carbon footprint?
Like all products, footwear also contributes to leaving behind a carbon footprint. A 2013 MIT research says the manufacturing process of a running shoe itself has a major impact on the shoe's carbon footprint. Materials used in the product too can affect the environment. Leather is a good example. Animal culture for leather production too contributes to warming the planet and so do traditional methods of leather tanning.
Industry giants have, thankfully, woken up to this problem and have initiated measures to make sneaker love sustainable. For instance, Adidas claims on its website that the company produced 11 million pairs of shoes in 2019 from recycled plastic gathered from beaches and coastal regions. Nike is promising to use 100 per cent sustainable cotton by end of this year while PUMA says its shoe boxes are made of 92 per cent recycled paper. Yet, much needs to be done right at the manufacturing level for this worldwide passion to truly be green.
Sneakerhead scrabble
New to the sneaker scene? Here are some words/phrases to get you going.
* Grails: The rarest or must-have sneakers.
* Plug: A person who gets you shoes without you having to put in any effort.
* OG: Acronym for Original Gangster.
* Kicks: Sneakers.
* Did you cope/cop that shoe?: Did you get/buy that shoe.
* Steal: Get a pair of sneakers at a price that is much below the market value.
* Beaters: Sneakers one chooses to often wear, even if they have been worn out.
* Colourway: A sneaker's colour combination.
* Deadstock: Sneakers that have never been worn.
* Hypebeast: A person driven by hype and the one who reacts accordingly.
* VNDS: "Very near deadstock," the term began to appear on sale postings in sneaker forums many years ago to describe a sneaker's condition.