subject: The History Of The Trainer [print this page] The trainer or the training shoe as some people call them is a very popular footwear type. Many men and women choose to wear this shoe style as a form of casual footwear. Trainers have for a long time been at the forefront of the fashion industry and are worn by both adults and children alike. Many designer labels and high end brands commit their design time solely to training shoes. Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Creative Recreation and Cruyff are all names that are associated with their collections of on trend trainers. Although many of us choose to wear these shoes, many do not know how their originated. In this article we will take a journey back in time to find out the history of this footwear style.
Athletic shoes were first established back in the 1830's. The company that first produced the footwear were a rubber production business based in Liverpool, England. A canvas upper and a rubber sole made up the shoe and were worn as beachwear. They looked similar to today's plimsolls. These carried on up until the early 1900's when sneakers were first brought forward. Many companies across the globe were bringing out their own collections of sneakers. Converse and Keds were the most popular at this time.
But even though many companies were producing the shoe, not a lot of people wanted to buy them. This occurred up until after World War One when America turned to sports as a way of showing patriotism therefore leading to more people choosing to wear training shoes. Young boys were the first to start purchasing the footwear as they were endorsed by sporting icons and role models that they looked up.
As the years went on, popularity for trainers grew and grew and many more designer labels popped up creating sneakers. More design elements were thought up and added to trainers, leading to even more competition between rival footwear and rubber companies who produced the shoe style.
Celebrity endorsements also encouraged the buying of sneakers, they then quickly grew into a must have fashion trend for young people. During the 1980's, famous Basketball player Michael Jordan signed a contract with the Nike label to create his own line of trainers. This encouraged other companies to do similar and many followed suit. Today it is very common to see a well known sports man or women endorsing a trainer brand or collection of sneakers.
Right now trainers are enjoying a wealth of popularity and many men, women and children are choosing to wear this footwear style. Even those who are not into sports like to wear sneakers as part of their everyday look proving that trainers have come a long way from where they first began.
