10 of the biggest sneaker stories of 2021, from Nike cancelling its Travis Scott collab to Kanye West’s US$1.8 million Yeezys
- The sneaker world has seen many stories this year and we take a look at the biggest of them, from the death of Virgil Abloh to the most worn shoe on Instagram
- Director Chloé Zhao picked up her Academy Award wins in US$790 Hermès Avantage kicks, Nike cancelled its Travis Scott collab and a devilish shoe was released
In recent years, casual footwear has grown from a practical concern to a multibillion-dollar industry. The last 12 months in particular have been as hectic in the world of sneakers as anywhere else.
The year was not without its controversies, as people lined up to claim that Satan was coming to steal the soles and souls of young America with one particular headline-grabbing collaboration.
Here, we take a look back at the biggest stories in sneakers in 2021.
Travis Scott’s festival tragedy saw Nike pull the plug
Real life had an impact on the sneaker world after the tragic events at Astroworld, Travis Scott’s festival in his hometown of Houston, Texas, where 10 people were crushed to death and 300 injured as the crowd surged to see the headlining rapper in November.
Virgil Abloh died, Nike x Off-White prices surged
Sneakerheads were among those to express shock when Louis Vuitton and Off-White designer Abloh’s death was announced in November after a private battle with cancer.
Adidas shell toes: still superstars on social
The Adidas Superstar shell toe shoe was the peak of culture in 1986 when US hip-hop group Run-DMC released My Adidas, and a survey has found the last 35 years have done little to dent the impact of the iconic Three Stripes silhouette.
Yeezys smash auction record
The sometime sneaker designer also found time to set the record for the most expensive sneakers ever sold at auction. His prototype Nike Air Yeezy 1s that he wore at the 2008 Grammy Awards sold for US$1.8 million in an April auction at Sotheby’s, almost triple the previous high of US$615,000 paid for the Air Jordan 1 “Shattered Backboard” sneakers last year.
Save our soles!
Perhaps the most controversial sneaker release of the year was the so-called “Satan Shoe” collaboration between design group MSCHF and musician Lil Nas X in March. The Nike Air Max 97s were customised with details such as a drop of human blood in the air unit and pentagrams, with the run limited to just 666 pairs.
Aside from selling out immediately, they got religious Middle America up in arms and resulted in Nike suing the internet-collective design group – just as they were sued for using the Air Max 97 model for their “Jesus Shoes” back in 2018. The “Satan Shoes” lawsuit was swiftly settled.
Mum’s the word
Sneaker reseller “West Coast Joe” hit the headlines for all wrong reasons this year after Bloomberg Businessweek reported that his mother, Ann Hebert, had left her role at Nike after 25 years following the revelation that the 19-year-old had used his mother’s discount privileges to furnish his inventory.
It was not the only accusation of nepotism this year, with Michael Jordan’s son Marcus accused of reselling his Trophy Room x Air Jordan 1s designs for above retail price before they were officially released.
Made to Meta
The sneaker space was quick to get into the world of NFTs, cryptocurrency and the metaverse this year, with RTFKT dropping the first sneaker NFTs – and raising US$3.1 million – in March before Nike bought the company in December.
Other big names in the NFT space include SNKR Project, AI Sneaks and CryptoKickers, while celebrities such as Bobbito Garcia and French Montana got in on the act with sneaker NFTs of their own.
So sue me
Kanye West and Walmart put the lit in litigious this year as they sued one another. The retailer sued the rapper over a disputed logo, before West hit back over Walmart selling knock-off versions of his divisive “Foam Runner” shoes for well below the US$75 retail price.
Later in the year, Vans did the same to Walmart over cut-price skate shoe knock-offs on the Walmart marketplace, while Nike issued lawsuits to a number of shoe customisers, including one former employee. It turns out that there is no business like shoe business.
Going public
The rapid rise of both brands – On started in 2010 and Allbirds in 2014 – has seen both valued as multibillion-dollar companies, giving hope to others who want to follow in their footsteps.
If the shoe fits
Zhao is not the only one to wear sneakers to work – designer or otherwise; some two- thirds of Britons admitted to doing so in a survey conducted by Shoeaholics in November. Its report also noted that they had spent an average of US$628 on their sneaker wardrobes.