The Gentrification of Sneakers Is Killing the Culture - Complex

[Nawzlew]

cringe everytime i see or hear "sneaker game"

 

[blastercombo]

Man it's been like that.

False

 

[doublemesh96]

I remember “shoe game” used to be used in reference to ones collection or accumulation of kicks. Maybe what an individual is wearing at the time. “What’s his kick game like” “your shoe game weak” saying “the” shoe game is trash.

 

[lamekilla]

If your love for sneakers was pure from the get go, it’ll never matter if the general public “gentrifies” them or not. With that being said, there’s a difference between a kid rocking yeezy 350’s and a kid rocking CB 94’s. You can tell who really knows there stuff.

 

[blastercombo]

I don’t care how much “knowledge” someone has
I don’t care what “breaks necks” with the middle school kids
I don’t care what limited “heat” is coming out
I don’t care about the trends or which trash rapper endorses what shoe
I don’t think some people are better shoe buyers than anyone else. Everyone has their reasons
I think old “shoe heads” are actually much more annoying than the kids.

I want to go online and buy a shoe I want and 90% of the time when it comes to nikes I can’t do that. The Ultimate insult is “winning” the ability for a chance to take your money lol. I’m at the point where if something is “heat” and I happen to have it from a previous release I’d rather not ware it to avoid weird “sneaker head” conversations with random kids.


If I had to pinpoint a place in time things changed it’s when eBay blew up. Before then nobody knew what “market value” was for whatever shoe. eBay equalized everything

 

[SneakerProSr.]

If your love for sneakers was pure from the get go, it’ll never matter if the general public “gentrifies” them or not. With that being said, there’s a difference between a kid rocking yeezy 350’s and a kid rocking CB 94’s. You can tell who really knows there stuff.

+1

My love for sneakers is now and always has been based on what I think is dope.

The stuff I like actually goes on sale now and outside of a few Js.

I can't care less if Complex gasses up suburban white kids to pay a stack for some ******* dad shoes

 

[airthompson]

I couldnt care less about the culture or whatever it's considered being oversaturated, gentrified, etc. It's always been about buying what I like for me, and not really taking it too seriously. Folks that want to stand out, be cool, or flex on other men can stay over there w that. They got the wrong intentions.

 

[Coromanti]

A friend said something once that I think applies here:

"People are coming to Brooklyn for the culture not realizing that by coming here they're killing off that culture."

Same thing applies here I think.

 

[blastercombo]

A friend said something once that I think applies here:

"People are coming to Brooklyn for the culture not realizing that by coming here they're killing off that culture."

Same thing applies here I think.

Well not to get all philosophical up in here but cultures of all sorts by nature do NOT remain the same.

 

[frenchbreadbuilds]

Buying what you like is one thing. “Culture” is another. Culture to me is what happens when people who buy and wear those shoes come together. You know the culture has changed because if a Niketalk started in 2018 instead of 1999 would 100% be completely a different Niketalk than what we enjoy today and have been enjoying. Substance wise.

 

[InTheHallway]

I honestly couldn't tell you what is hot or how to buy a pair of shoes on release ... The last pair of non-work shoes I bought I stood in line for ... This e-line **** is beat ...

 

[kn0wledgeable]

dudes complaining about hunting for sneakers? what in the world...

people love using the gentrify term for anything nowadays. what ya'll really mad at is capitalism.

 

[tay1]

dudes complaining about hunting for sneakers? what in the world...

people love using the gentrify term for anything nowadays. what ya'll really mad at is capitalism.

Hunting?

it's a shoe, not wild game

 

[HankHill]

With that being said, there’s a difference between a kid rocking yeezy 350’s and a kid rocking CB 94’s. You can tell who really knows there stuff.

What does this imply? I can't see either of these making someone knowledgeable about sneakers

 

[lamekilla]

What does this imply? I can't see either of these making someone knowledgeable about sneakers

That one prefers sneakers that are trendy while the other prefers sneakers that were crafted well for performance though not particularly noticeable amongst the general public.

 

[HankHill]

Can't say I've met anyone who bought Barkleys for craftsmanship. They're just as trendy for any kid in an urban area. Those, Foams, Uptempos, Pippens, Crazy 8s, etc., pretty much whatever you can find on the shelf at DTLR and ShoeCity.

 

[2163O1baller90]

Can't say I've met anyone who bought Barkleys for craftsmanship. They're just as trendy for any kid in an urban area. Those, Foams, Uptempos, Pippens, Crazy 8s, etc., pretty much whatever you can find on the shelf at DTLR and ShoeCity.

pretty much

 

[slab_diaz]

i bought my first pair of jordans in the year 2018, am i killing the culture?

 

[gry60]

It doesn't matter who made sneakers popular or who were in the ads. The articles main argument was that sneaker culture is being gentrified. Something can't be gentrified if people in middle class we're already buying/in the s eaker culture to begin with.

It does.

Dallas Club Denies Black Man Entry Because He’s Wearing Jordans; Black Guy Switches Shoes With White Friend; White Friend Tries To Get In With Jordans; You Know What Happens Next


http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2...t-in-with-jordans-you-know-what-happens-next/

Not long ago, wearing kicks outside of a sports setting was considered low-class, working class attire. I can remember a time when establishments would regularly use the "no sneakers, no ball caps" posting as an euphemism for "no brown/black folks."

What the article is pointing out (akwardly I should say) is the fact that the perception of sneakers has changed because the faces pushing them have. Louis Vuitton x Supreme sells out and commands insane resell prices. Years ago, when Chanel and Reebok dropped an instapump collab, nobody gave a ****. I remember watching Pumas by Mihara Yasuhiro languish on Nordstrom Rack shelves; even adidas' designer lines regularly went on sale until some of Jeremy Scott's joints caught the public interest.

The people who know who those designers are are now the face of the hobby, and that is reflected in current footwear trends.

 

[penny1folarin]

this monarch trend is hilarious

 

[plansb]

this monarch trend is hilarious

I can't tell if it is a joke, or do people really like those things?

 

[jape]

sneakerhead culture is a term made up by nike so you kids can keep wasting money

 

[HankHill]

It does.

Not long ago, wearing kicks outside of a sports setting was considered low-class, working class attire. I can remember a time when establishments would regularly use the "no sneakers, no ball caps" posting as an euphemism for "no brown/black folks."

What the article is pointing out (akwardly I should say) is the fact that the perception of sneakers has changed because the faces pushing them have. Louis Vuitton x Supreme sells out and commands insane resell prices. Years ago, when Chanel and Reebok dropped an instapump collab, nobody gave a ****. I remember watching Pumas by Mihara Yasuhiro languish on Nordstrom Rack shelves; even adidas' designer lines regularly went on sale until some of Jeremy Scott's joints caught the public interest.

The people who know who those designers are are now the face of the hobby, and that is reflected in current footwear trends.

What you're referring to is appropriation not gentrification. And as a Black man in 2018, I will still be denied entry into a venue for wearing sneakers if "they" don't want me in there. "Gentrification of the sneaker culture" has no impact on that.

And that's my take with the author. He quoted someone who called it colonization, yet he is calling it gentrification, which is incorrect.

Penn said that he felt like this was colonization, rather than gentrification, but to me they mean the same thing in 2018.

The argument for the Mom&Pop stores not being able to stay open is the only one I can give to him on gentrification. The others arguments were on the growth of the culture going mainstream. There's no displacement for older sneaker heads or movements to push them out of the culture. Sneaker prices have gone up, but not to the point where they are pricing out the average consumer. Most of us would just bow out of it on our own accord.

 

[sharpshooter718]

I met up with This dude i knew from the military last year.. he thnaked me for getting into the "shoe" game. He's a white dude from flint michigan who b4 2002 still called all sneakers tennis shoes...

I told him it's nothing just wear what u like and keep em clean... he's been a disciple ever since...lol


But for real it's just sneakers... who cares at this point. We got kids and mortgages , **** a trend

 

[frenchbreadbuilds]

The argument for the Mom&Pop stores not being able to stay open is the only one I can give to him on gentrification. The others arguments were on the growth of the culture going mainstream. There's no displacement for older sneaker heads or movements to push them out of the culture. Sneaker prices have gone up, but not to the point where they are pricing out the average consumer. Most of us would just bow out of it on our own accord.

I don’t think it’s displacement in the sense that old sneaker heads are being forced out, I think the sneaker culture/conversation has changed into something that old sneaker heads can’t take part in. And I think that’s because the sneaker conversations that used to be talked about are no longer about the sneakers. It doesn’t stop old sneaker heads from coming together to have their own discussions but the platforms, the forums, the media, has all changed to adapt to the new conversation. I think that mirrors what is socially considered gentrification pretty well.