Over the years the sneaker industry has become one of the biggest cash cows netting billions of dollars worldwide. This is not only due to the millions paided to athletes to promote their product but the impact on a social level that drives consumers to camp outside of places like Footlocker for four nights or crash the eastbay website to make sure they have the newest pairs of kicks.

 

No matter how you put it, you can't hide the fact that sneakers play a part not only on a fashion level in which people color coordinate their clothing according to their sneaker color way but also on a social and cultural level. Trust me; take it from a guy who grew up with old school caribbean parents. Their old school of thought: wear your kicks till you put air conditioned holes in the soles... lol, better believe i worked my ass off and saved up enough to buy the sneakers i wanted later on in life.

 

I guess it's safe to say that sneakers are more than an article of clothing at this point ; they represent an innovative outlet and a means for creativity and self-expression. Which brings me to the new exhibit called "The Rise of sneaker Culture" on display at the Brooklyn Museun. While this exhibition displays about 100 or so sneakers (Early prototypes) from various manufactures such as Puma, Nike, Reebok and Adidas it also gives us the history as to how sneakers played an integral role within modern day society through sports and fashion.

 

While i got a chance to check out some old school chucks and modern day Yeezy's, Some of the coolest sneakers that stood out to me were Run DMC's shell toe Adidas from his personal collection, as well as the "Air jordan" display showing every Jordan ever Created in chronological order (pretty dope stuff).

 

The "The Rise of the Sneaker Culture" exhibit will be on display at the Brooklyn Museum through October, but if you can't make it out ,we got you covered. Check out some of the pics in the gallery below.

 

  -Smurf