Sneaker Modding
From Mod Mania
Custom Sneaker Culture
Sneaker Culture has its roots stemming from all over the world, beginning in the early – mid 20th century. This was a time when sports like basketball, tennis and soccer were becoming popular and the brands Converse, Adidas, Nike and Puma began to form for their respective sports. However apart from their use in sport, sneakers slowly became a icon, a status and a fashion item. In the latter half of the 20th century sneaker popularity grew immensely as did the sneaker industry through sports like basketball and tennis where they became symbols of athleticism and power and people wanted a part of it. As a result the sneaker made its way from sport to casual wear and was soon considered to be a fashionable item by many around the world.
Sneaker Customizing began as an individual trend for people who didn’t want to throw out their sneakers just because the paint had worn out or because it wasn’t in fashion anymore. People began to customize their own sneakers by painting them a new colour or, even just drawing on them and this is what started the custom sneaker culture. Over time this community has grown and has spread throughout the world and even into the larger commercial footwear companies who have recognized the trend and are tagging along.
Through the internet sites and magazines like Sneaker Freaker, Soul Collector and Hypebeast the sneaker industry has thrived with designers from anywhere and everywhere being given the ability to showcase their skills. In many of these websites they form their own micro communities usually with a forum for its members to discuss the latest sneaker news and also to help and critique each others works. The members post up their works in their own blogs on the sites and share with people the experiences they had of customizing their sneakers. New members and designers are always welcomed with plenty of tutorials to be found for the ‘newbie’ sneaker customizer on sites like sneakerfreaker.com .
Along with tutorials the forums are filled with people of a variety of skills who are open to help anyone and everyone with their own sneaker projects and to give them tips gained from their own experiences. Most of the major sites contain their own competition for designers to submit their own photos of their sneaker projects to keep people busy trying to better their designs and skills. These sites really contain everything you need to know about customizing and maintaining your sneakers based on experiences compiled from people around the world.
In the Sneaker Freaker Magazine along with news of up and coming ‘kicks’ (sneakers) many designers of varying skill are also featured in the magazine ranging from those employed at Adidas to the self employed designers trying to make this hobby a living. The designers are interviewed and their works put on display in the book in an effort to promote these designers to the world. Those people important in the sneaker world have their opinions posted on the newest shoes and what they are wearing now, to give people inspiration and an idea what is being worn in the underground sneaker world.
As mentioned before the larger footwear companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Puma have joined the trend of customized sneakers and all have their own websites where consumers can choose the colour scheme for their shoes, before it is made, ushering in a whole new level of individualism to the consumer shoe market. Examples of this are such as NikeID , rbkCustom and Puma’s Mongolian Shoe BBQ are examples of sites were consumers are given the opportunity to select their desired shoe, choose its size and outside design turning them into the producers. Many of these sites are also supported by shoes pre- customized to various themes, whether that be to whatever sporting teams that the company endorses such as the NBA or for a music icon such as Missy Elliot.
Adidas for example has its ‘adicolor’ range which is a range of clothing and footwear which are sold with an optional range of paints and markers to allow consumers to colour what they wear, the way they want it to be.
This ever growing custom sneaker trend has given birth to a number of designers who due to demand have been successful in setting up their own sneaker customization businesses. Usually for a fee you can bring in your own shoes or purchase one from a designer which can have one of the designers templates painted onto your shoes. Even in Melbourne this practice is apparent with one of Melbourne’s designers who goes by ‘ Sekure D’ who has gained international recognition for his Custom Globe Mace Hi design along with his other designs.
Over time the customization of sneakers has become easier and easier for the individual. Along with the online tutorials and forums to help you along your away, some companies such as Sneakart.com use special stickers which have customizable patterns on them that you can just purchase sheets of, to cut out and stick onto your sneakers for a quick and simple way to freshen up and customize your sneakers.
As you can see the custom sneaker culture has and still is growing at a rapid pace with and has become a trend that even the bigger companies are tagging along with. What once was an activity by youths to give life to their old sneakers is now a huge industry where personality and individuality are its life force.
