Is Sneaker Culture Dying?

Has Sneakers Culture turned into a culture of privilege? What happened? Recently, I went to Sneakercon in the Bay Area. Let me lay the foundation – I decided last year that I really wanted to go to Sneakercon after I had a conversation with someone at work. I purchased my ticket and I was super excited. I went on Day 2.

I didn’t know what to expect but I had no idea what I was getting ready to experience…So I got there 15 mins earlier and the line started around the corner and roughly 2 blocks down. People were trying to buy sneakers off of other people’s feet. I was shocked. Almost everyone in line had at least one shoe box in hand. Some people had carts of shoes they were selling. The off-white dunks just dropped and they were highly sought after, but very specific one colors. I saw mostly the University of Michigan with the university red lace overlay (see below). After an hour of being in line, I finally walked into the showroom – it looked like a basement version of a Foot Locker or a Champs. The first thing I noticed was the placement of the vendors – when you first walked in – it was as packed together as clowns in a car. As you started to walk toward the back of the showroom the vendor space increased and the sneaker prices went down – weird. The closer you were to the entrance the higher price you paid for shoes. I had 3 goals at SneakerCon- learn more about designers, gain insight into the custom sneaker market, and get those citrus Jordan 11 and Dunks. (At this time – I couldn’t get an authentic pair of dunks at a reasonable price to save my life – key words reasonable price) – I will unpack that tidbit in a later post.

Back to the citrus Jordan and Dunks, the first couple of sellers didn’t have my size. I was told I should have come on day 1 – (irritating because people have to work so they can afford their sneaker habits – otherwise I would have been there) the next set of sellers set their price at a point I was not willing to pay: $300+ for dunks (for my non-sneakerheads – dunk retail for roughly $110) – I saw dunks as high as $2500. If you are thinking – at least they were of the off-white ones? I’m my Charlie Murphy voice – wrong!

Another observation- a complete and total lack of female representation from the vendors down to the shoes. They had kids and they had men’s – very few vendors had female sizes or products. Only 1 vendor had the Citrus Jordan’s – 1! This particular Jordan dropped as a female shoe. So disappointed. Representation matters!

I was hoping to get more information on designs and concepts, and maybe learn about custom sneakers – nope! It was one huge overpriced marketplace. I was so disappointed.

The cool part was I got to see sneakers I’ve never seen and the ones I can’t afford…. which brings me to my original question – is sneaker culture dying? I went to the Nike Clearance store about 30 minutes before it opened. There was a line for the reseller (several resellers with their fold-out chairs) the fact that I have to compete with a reseller for a pair of Jordan 1 is crazy to me. I have to get to Nike an hour before it opens to get in line so I can get a better choice selection? They are going to take those $49.99 Air Force 1 shadows and flip them for $200. It’s easier (and less stressful) to order UA or a very good replica and wait a month to get them from China, Vietnam, or any other country that sells good reps. Some shoes aren’t worth the fight and I love sneakers!

Why pay $1650 for a shoe that only costs $120 in the first place? Let’s take a look at the Cactus Plant Flea Market Spiral Sage. The retail price was $120. See below

I’m feeling like the culture has turned into something exclusive, rich, and privileged – it hurts my feelings!

Maybe one day we can get back up the love of sneakers. I should not have asked myself “Do I get these sneakers or pay my rent/mortgage ?” For sneakerheads, this can be a real dilemma.