A Theory On Why Shoe Design Has Become So Stale

An old, dilapidated shoe.

If you’re at all in the world of sneaker culture, you know that the resale market has been on a steady decline. What was once a thriving and exciting economy in its own right has become a nightmare for many who stocked up on shoes only for them to decrease in value. 

While there are many factors that have caused this state of affairs, an important one that no one talks about as much as they should is the fact that shoe design has just gotten stale. Everything is just kind of a remake and if it’s not, then it’s usually pretty lackluster. 

Just think that there was a time when new shoes were consistently coming out that changed the way people saw footwear. Shaq Attaqs, Nike Air Unlimiteds — you name it. But now, it really doesn’t feel like there are any classics that are dropping — at least not regularly. 

Now, it may seem like I’m about to get a little tin-foil hat with you here but just stick with me on this one. For context, we’ll need to look at the job market at large. 

In virtually all fields, the accolades you need to get just an entry-level position have become ridiculous. If you don’t have several years of very specific experience that exactly aligns with a role, you basically have no chance of getting a job. 

Now, let’s turn the spotlight back over to the sneaker industry. Just like every other marketing or business job, to get a job as a footwear designer at literally any brand (not even just the big ones) you need a specific degree with very specific experience. 

In other words, all of the people entering the industry have to be molded in a very specific way and learn the exact same things in order to go and do the same job. And, while I’m not saying that this will kill all aspects of originality and creativity in the world, it’s clear by today’s sneaker offerings that it’s definitely doing damage in some capacity. 

I think what made shoe design so innovative and exciting in the 90s was the fact that the people at all of these various companies came from different backgrounds. I don’t think there were many shoe-design-specific college courses back then, and even if there were some, there wasn’t enough to account for all the people who ended up designing sneakers. 

And, if you ask me, it really shows. Just look at the shoes that dropped in the 90s, the Air Maestro, the Air Zoom Flight Five. It’s like these people just couldn’t stop dropping absolute bangers and everyone was excited about what new design was coming next. 

Today, it doesn’t feel like people are all that excited at all. Instead, it feels like the opposite honestly, like people are fatigued and just expect to be disappointed again. 

To further prove my point, let’s look at probably the most famous and maybe most important sneaker designer of all time, Tinker Hatfield. Do you know what he had a degree in? Architecture. Now imagine if Nike had passed on Tinker Hatfield because he didn’t have the weirdly specific experience they were looking for. They wouldn’t have gotten his innovative perspective. 

And, I’m not just talking about Nike here, it’s literally everyone. They’re just hiring these people who all have the exact same training and like the same things. Not that there’s anything wrong with that specific training, the point is that it shouldn’t only be those people. 

Scroll through pages of Hypebeast on any given day and you’re probably just going to see a bunch of stale ideas or companies trying to bring back shoes from the past. They literally aren’t allowing the ideas to flow. 

So, what do I propose? Take a page out of the glory days and just give people chances. Just because someone isn’t an absolute technical wizard with a specific CAD software doesn’t at all mean that they’re not able to come up with a great shoe. Honestly, the most creative people probably don’t have the patience to sit down and become the best ever at that software. 

The answer that none of these business analysts from Deloitte or wherever can’t figure out about why big shoe companies aren’t as beloved as they used to be is that they’re not giving the right people a chance. For all the talk about innovation and creativity and knocking down barriers it’s nearly impossible for creative people with great ideas to get jobs at any of these companies if they don’t happen to have the very narrow pre-requisites that a resume scanner program is looking for. 

If these companies really want to go back to a time when beautifully designed shoes were being dropped consistently and consumers were excited about it, they have to go back to their roots and actually enlist all types of creative people from all types of professional and academic backgrounds. 

Because, if they could do it back then and make the best, most classic, and coveted shoes ever created, then they obviously have the power to do it today.