LONDON Design Museum —

Sneakers Unboxed: From Studio to Street

27 May 2021, 18:30 - 20.00 (BST)

Sneaker culture has spawned a saturated market with brands dropping new sneakers every week. The demand for exclusive, limited edition pairs is driven by a legion of diehard fans across the world.

Sneakerheads queue up outside stores for days on end and enter competitive raffles for the chance to buy a rare release or a designer collaboration resulting in some shoes being sold on for a significant profit online. Driven by the intense desire for exclusivity, drop culture – the release of small ranges of limited items – has become the norm for sneaker brands, with the model being adopted by the wider fashion industry.

During this panel discussion, Derek Morrison, Senior Director at Europe at Stock X, Christyna Pourhabib, editor of The First Pair, and Sarah Andelman, former Creative Director of Colette, discuss how the sneaker became the ultimate collector’s item.

Chaired by David Fischer, Highsnobiety.