Sneaker collecting

The boom of signature basketball shoes during this era provided the sheer variety necessary for a collecting subculture, while the hip-hop movement gave the sneakers their street credibility as status symbols.

[3] Consumers started to collect, trade and resell sneakers in the 1970s, and the sneakerhead subculture came to prominence in New York City during the 1980s.

However, with the rise of hip hop music, a "clean and fresh" look gained popularity and the game of "stepsies" lost favor.

This type of violation lowers a person's reputation and shows their lack of awareness of the culture, similar to forgetting to remove the tag from a designer suit.

Originally popular among urban black youth and white skateboarders, by the 21st century it had gained a sizable Asian following.

Some of the notable exhibitions include Sneakercon in North America and Southeast Asia, Sneakerness in Europe, and Faces&Laces in Russia.

Through these exhibitions, sneakerheads show their collections, sell or exchange sneakers, and attend public talks with designers and collectors.

Many sneakerheads highlight the importance of practicing non-commercial, community based activities like customization, to express their creativity and show their values and enthusiasm in sneakers.

Growing up in the 1980s when Air Jordans were first released, children idolized basketball players who were wearing the latest styles.

[5][2] The sneakers individuals see their favorite celebrities wearing from an early age is one of the reasons why the shoes they buy create such a sentimental feeling.

The feeling of acquiring a pair of shoes desired since childhood is what makes sneaker collecting special and nostalgic.

Commonly used words include:[20] Several popular brands and styles of sneakers have emerged as collector's items in the sneakerhead subculture.

Sneakerheads have made Flight Club a destination to see some of the most exclusive, rare, and famous sneakers in the world firsthand.

The store also holds a section with the entire line of 1985 Jordan 1s, the shoes that helped start the sneaker culture and craze.

[13] The app implements multiple variations of raffle systems – notably 10-minute-long "draws" – and as of 2020 mostly eschews the first come, first served model.

(Nike still sells the vast majority of its products via its separate, non-SNKRS-related app, along with sales through traditional brick-and-mortar sellers such as Foot Locker and large department stores.)

Apps like SNKRS were made to give ordinary buyers a fair chance to purchase a given pair, but with mixed results.

While Nike has the financial wherewithal to continuously improve the app to prevent internet bots from exploiting it, this is generally not the case with small, independent sneaker boutiques; on many such sites, bots and proxy servers in particular (which "spoof" IP addresses to obfuscate multiple purchase attempts from a single buyer) have made it difficult to purchase popular sneakers via scheduled releases before they sell out.