The Design Museum Den Bosch will be showing a collection of special art objects from Tuesday: Sneakers Unboxed. It seems far-fetched, but the sports shoe has a rich history and the purchase of a special pair can also become an expensive affair.
There is a pair of no less than 15,000 euros on display. Maan Leo of the museum and sneaker dealer Kars de Boer talk about it in the Omroep Brabant program KRAAK.
The sneaker is definitely worth an exhibition, says Maan Leo. The museum not only shows special couples, but also very old ones. What not many people know is that the first sneaker was made in 1916. The museum has a slightly younger one: from the 1920s. “In the distance you can see the current Allstar Converse in it,” says Leo.
Sneakers in Back to the Future
The sneaker has gone through a lot of development since then. In the film ‘Back to the Future’ you see shoes that lace up on their own. Something similar can be seen: a shoe that molds completely around your foot, making it really close.
The music scene is of course also covered in detail. After all, that was very important for the popularity of the sneaker. Run DMC was a band that created hype in the 80s by wearing sneakers without laces and with the flap or tongue sticking out.
Kars de Boer trades in sneakers. The man from Oosterhout also lent some copies himself. His shoes are worth 15,000 euros. “I have a customer who is willing to pay 6,000 euros for it, but I won’t give them away for that. It sounds bad, but the designer is dead, so those shoes are only worth more,” says De Boer.
Customers had to leave through the back door
Another special shoe is the first sneaker that caused a riot, in 2005. At first glance it doesn’t look like a super special shoe, the Nike New York SB with a dove on it, but at the time so many people wanted it that it became quite a tour to buy a pair to obtain. “So many people had come to the store they wanted, that customers had to leave through the back door,” says De Boer. “It was no longer safe to walk through the crowd through the front with the box.”
De Boer also wears the sneakers himself. “But not when it rains. Or to a party, I’ll pay attention to that. But at the end of the day it’s just a shoe. And shoes, you wear them.”
