Iconic shoe style
By Declan Hughes
When thinking of classic iconic design the architectural world and engineering gives us many examples as does the world of Auto mobiles. When it comes to footwear the candidates are much fewer. Think of the empire state building in New York with is beautiful Art Deco styling, think of the golden gate bridge in San Francisco a fine example of cable extension bridge design. Think of the E type Jaguar, the Volkswagen beetle and most people can draw rudimentary outlines or see a silhouette in their mind.
The footwear industry has much fewer examples but three immediately spring to mind.
The Dr. Marten 1460 boot, The Kickers kick hi boot and the Chuck Taylor baseball shoe by Converse.
In common with a lot of classic design “form follows function” The Dr martens boot was originally designed by a real doctor who had a skiing accident and wanted a soft soled shoe to aid his rehabilitation. The Kick Hi kickers boot came about when its creator ” Daniel Raufast” came across a poster advertising the musical Hair. Interested by all the barefooted youngsters wearing jeans, he developed a new shoe concept which he believed to be more compatible with the blue-jean generation. The Converse all star boots were made first in 1917 to capture the baseball market, Chuck Taylor, a basketball player and shoe salesman for Converse, improved the shoe’s design and became the product’s spokesperson in 1921.
So all of these now Iconic styles had very humble and functional beginnings. What then can project a seemingly mundane functional design into something that is a true iconic design classic recognised the world over? Well each brand has its own individual story however one common thread connects them all and that is youth culture and pop culture. All three of these styles have been worn by the coolest of the cool. Here is are some examples:-
Dr. Martens have been worn by The Clash, Jamie Winstone, Avril Lavigne, Agyness Deyn , Pixie Geldof, The sex pistols and most famously the late Pope John Paul II (he ordered customized white ones!!)
Famous followers of Kickers boots are Ms Dynamite, So Solid Crew, Jarvis Cocker, Noel Gallagher, Mike Skinner, Arctic Monkeys, The Who’s Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend, Elton John and David Bowie
Converse all stars have been spotted on Jessica Alba, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Port, Pete Wentz, Renee Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, Norah Jones, Miley Cyrus, Elijah Wood, Chord Overstreet, Heidi Montag
Some designs reach greatness for a short time and then disappear into oblivion but the true test of a great design- an iconic design is its ability to be reinvented by the next generation. Chuck Taylor Converse All stars started in 1917 !! Dr martens first appeared in 1960 and the “baby” of the pack the kickers kick hi boot appeared in 1974 an astonishing 36 years ago. And yet each style can be seen worn by the next generation. From the first Rock n Roll in the late 50′s, to Punk in the 70′s, Two Tone and Ska in the 80′s and Grunge and Goths in the 90′s each sub culture brought along its own unique style Yet throughout the end of the 20th century and now the beginning of the 21st we still see the same 3 styles appear in popular culture. This then is their legacy, their endless ability to be fresh and new – to be at the leading edge of the latest pop and youth culture and yet to be endlessly classic, timeless iconic designs.
Author
Declan Hughes works in the Retail sector in Northern Ireland.
Sites www.kidskickers.co.uk
Categorised as: Guest Post, Men's Fashion