Will You Be the Next Big Collector of Sneakers?

Sneakers have come a long way in the last hundred years to become something of a cultural icon in and of themselves. They, in some form or another, were brought to the market in the early twentieth century and the term “sneakers” was given to them through popular culture. The name came about for obvious reasons: the soft shoe allowed you to walk around sneakily.

Nowadays they are not only a multi billion dollar business each year but they have also become a pretty hot, albeit relatively expensive, collectors item. How could they not? From the sports to the girly Maryjane, every pair of sneakers these days looks like a trophy for your feat. Some people find them so awesome to look at that they just want to buy them for display.

With sneakers being the easiest clothing accessory to wear out, having a pair of mint condition high profile sneakers can be deemed a pretty big deal; especially when the sneakers are from back in the early days when the 80s saw sneakers becoming heavily researched and marketed items. After all, most people who owned the early high profile sneakers bought them to wear them. That means running in them and getting them dirty and if you were a jogger who wore them with no socks they likely got stinky pretty fast. And the more people that collect sneakers, the more valuable an old unworn pair will become.

Those who work in the stores that sell the big name sneakers often don’t know what they’re getting into. Sneaker collecting isn’t a much talked about hobby so when you start encountering people who line up to be the first to own a high profile sneaker it can be quite surprising. Talking to some staff in these stores reveals that there are customers who regularly place orders for large amounts of shoes, check in regularly about surprise sneaker launches and try to get wholesale deals. As good it is to have a customer who collects sneakers though, it does hurt some people’s sale numbers because they want the sneakers and nothing else. No extra laces, no socks and no weather guard.

There are now even websites devoted to the collecting of sneakers as well as magazines and message boards. The industry of sneakers has become so big that sneakers are being released that seem almost exclusively for collectors.

Icon is a recent addition to the companies competing for the sneakers dollar. Icon’s sneakers differ from the high tech and sporty look by featuring classic or iconic artwork as a part of the sneakers themselves. From their sneakers for men to icon’s more girly Maryjane styles the colorful standout sneakers have grown quite popular and have found their way from the shelves of exclusive stores to more mainstream sellers of sneakers.

For the collector, Icon offers something more unique when compared to athletic sneakers and Maryjane shoes that the other brand names offer. Aside from being just a trophy to perch on a collectors shelf these sneakers are true works of art. With those kinds of sneakers on the market even more people have found sneakers worth collecting. After two decades of massive ad campaigns and the current loyal fan base, the business of making and selling sneakers is not likely going to slow down any time soon.

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