In early 2018, athletic footwear giant Nike released an unprecedented collection. “The 1's Reimagined” transformed the iconic Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1 sneaker - it was marketed it to a female audience and designed by a team of 14 women.
Later that year, the brand announced collaborations with female designers Yoon Ahn, and Martine Rose. But all of Nike’s initiatives to be more inclusive towards women were part of a larger plan: During a 2015 investor conference in Oregon, Nike announced they wanted to grow female product revenue from $5.7 billion to $11 billion by 2020.
The sneaker industry has always been male-dominated, but in recent years there seems to have been a cultural shift. Nike developed "Unlaced," an online and brick-and-mortar women’s sneaker store; Amazon’s Zappos created an online women’s sneaker shop called "The Ones," and Selfridges launched an entirely women’s sneaker space in their flagship Oxford Street department store, which sells over 700 styles.
Suddenly, major brands are taking note of female consumers and tailoring marketing campaigns to them -- Why is this happening now? And is it too little too late?
Over the past 5 years, the growth of the women’s sneaker market has steadily been outpacing its male counterpart. Back in 2015, Nike’s women’s business grew by 20%, more than doubling the 9% growth of the men’s market that same year.
In 2018, upon unveiling “Unlaced,” Nike stated in a press release that they were “committed to pushing new female voices” and “challenging the sneaker status quo.”
But even with all the growth, women are still struggling to see themselves as a part of sneaker culture. “The women’s section of shoes is always smaller and has less options,” says Charnice Blaize, a sneaker lover and founder of Blaized UK. Because of the lack of options, “most women end up shopping in the men’s section anyway,” she says.
Blaize isn’t alone in thinking there’s a lack of inclusion. Sarah Ko, an avid sneakerhead and partner with the Nike Legacy Summit, says the real struggle comes in finding shoes that actually fit. Even when she decides to shop in the men’s section, the sizes don’t cater to smaller feet because they weren’t made with women in mind. Though Nike announced they’d be releasing unisex sizing for their sneakers in late 2018, it was only for a limited number of styles.
Currently trending sneakers on resale website GOAT, all of them are in men's sizes
Ko believes there is a masculinity complex tied to sneakers, which makes the industry slow to becoming inclusive. “Sneakers were meant for performance, and performance in terms of athleticism always correlates to men,” she says. “Only recently are women starting to step into that realm and really showcase their athleticism.”
Blaize agrees. “Change is happening very, very slowly … a lot of sneaker campaigns don’t even include women,” she says. But there is a silver lining: “Instagram helps by having female focused pages,” says Blaize. Women aren’t looking to brands to feel included, rather towards social media where female street style bloggers and sneakerheads are commonplace.
Some of the biggest Instagram street style influencers are making major strides. Alani Figueroa, known as @WuzGood on Instagram, became one of the main hosts for BET’s YouTube sneaker show Colorways and Toeboxes.
Aleali May, a stylist and street style influencer with 432,000 followers became the first woman to design a unisex sneaker for Jordan brand Jumpman. After the release of her highly coveted Shadow Satin Air Jordan 1 in 2017, she released two more Jordans in 2019: The Millennial Pink Air Jordan 6, and Lux Court Air Jordan 1.
At the 2019 NBA All-Star weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, May told a crowd of female sneakerheads, “when I got a Jordan, we all got a Jordan.”
On her journey as a designer, May told The Undefeated in 2019 “I’m just trying to represent women in streetwear, women in footwear design, and just those young girls out there who are like, ‘I grew up in a place like South Central. How can I do it too?’”
Representation behind the scenes in design bears weight for women. “It encourages other women that they can do it too,” says Blaize. “When you see people that look like you, it makes it feel more accessible and achievable.”
For some, like Ko, the designer of the shoe is a deciding factor in whether she buys a sneaker. “I care about the story behind the shoe,” she says. “Who designed it? Which player endorses it?”
The story behind the shoe is what makes the Lebron 16s her favorite pair. The sneakers are a collaboration with the Harlem Fashion Row, and the first basketball sneaker to be designed entirely by a team of women, for women.
Ko recalls how badly she wanted Lebrons: “When I bought the shoes I was on a boat, and I was refreshing the page to make sure I had enough data to actually buy them. And I got them,” she says beaming. When the Lebron 16s were first released, they sold out in less than 5 minutes. The lowest current resale price is $575.
Ko says owning sneakers designed by women gives her a sense of pride. “There’s an unspoken sense of unity when it comes to women,” she says. “There are a lot of women out there who are capable of doing the same exact things as men and it’s time for them to be recognized for that.”
“Having big brands like Nike, Adidas, and Puma endorse women is what really make an impact on the general audience,” says Ko. "It just shows them that it’s okay for women to be a part of sneaker culture, it’s not just for men.”
Women have just started getting their feet into the sneaker industry, but it turns out what women are hoping for isn’t “women’s sneakers.” They want to know that they can fit into sneaker culture, without women’s sneakers being a completely separate entity.
