Sneakers: Fashion, Gender, and Subculture [Paperback]

This is the first academic study of sneakers and the subculture that surrounds them. Since the 1980s, American sneaker enthusiasts, popularly known as sneakerheads or sneakerholics, have created a distinctive identity for themselves, while sneaker manufacturers such as Reebok, Puma and Nike have become global fashion brands.

How have sneakers come to gain this status and what makes them fashionable? In what ways are sneaker subcultures bound up with gender identity and why are sneakerholics mostly young men? Based on the author's own ethnographic fieldwork in New York, where sneaker subculture is said to have originated, this unique study traces the transformation of sneakers from sportswear to fashion symbol.

Sneakersexplores the obsessions and idiosyncrasies surrounding the sneaker phenomenon, from competitive subcultures to sneaker painting and artwork. It is a valuable contribution to the growing study of footwear in fashion studies and will appeal to students of fashion theory, gender studies, sociology, and popular culture.

Finally, a book on sneakers for fashion scholars! No single item of clothing has played a larger role in American youth cultural history, and Kawamura does a brilliant job of recounting that history, contextualizing sneakers within the post-subcultural moment, and placing them in tension with larger debates in fashion studies. Brent Luvaas, Drexel University, USA

It's all about the sneaker! A fascinating look at the sneaker subculture phenomenon from a sociologist's eye. Exploring complex sneaker codes relating to status, identity, peer recognition, lS.