Sneakers x Culture: Collab

Written by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Foreword by Jacques Slade

A celebration of the great sneaker collaborations that have reimagined the shoe, elevating this most practical of footwear into the realm of wearable art.

The ubiquitous sneaker is the canvas upon which so many defiers of convention--artists, musicians, athletes, and celebrities--have sought to make their mark and through the sneaker contribute to a unique identity and attitude among sneakerheads everywhere. Collected here are the best sneaker collaborations with the biggest makers--Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma, Reebok--featuring nearly one hundred famous, infamous, and lesser-known partnerships.

Museum-quality studio photographs of each sneaker are accompanied by visuals collected from the archives of sneaker makers, as well as ephemera such as design sketches and drawings illustrating the creative process. Author Elizabeth Semmelhack has conducted interviews with many collaborators, including an extensive Q&A with Chris Hill, design manager of Reebok, who has worked with Pyer Moss, Cam'ron, and many others.

In her introduction, Semmelhack explores the history of collaborations, starting at the beginning with Jack Purcell, whose sneakers remain virtually unchanged today. More than eighty sneaker collaborations are featured, including Virgil Abloh (ten styles!), KAWS, Pharrell Williams, Bobbito Garcia, Damien Hirst, Jeremy Scott, Eminem, Supreme, Chanel, Missoni, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Dr. Woo, and Fear of God.

About The Author

Shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack was the curator and author of Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture. She is senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
Jacques Slade is an avid sneaker collector, blogger on Kustoo.com, and host of the YouTube show This Week in Sneaks.