The sneaker hype fades, now what?

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The post-sneaker era seems to have entered the fashion system through a state of crisis and decadence, but still far from obsolescence and resignation by luxury brands.

The sneaker culture went from provoking a collective feeling of love or obsession, to transforming and evolving towards a more marginal or secondary place, catalyzed by the comeback formal shoe. A new current or script twist synchronized with the explosion of the streetwear bubble, and all that overload of collaborations in the sphere high end.

Despite this decline, driven by the constant expansion of silhouettes such as moccasins, boots, slip-ons or clogs in countless formats, according to a recent report by BoF Insightssneakers still represent around 55% of the footwear assortment of luxury brands.

In this sense, according to the same header, which collects the data of Euromonitor, “Global sneaker sales totaled $152.4 billion in 2022, reflecting a 2.7% sales increase from a year earlier, but a sharp slowdown compared to a 19.5% rebound. registered in 2021.” Now, through 2027, the category’s average annual rate of growth is forecast to be 3.6%.

THE DECLINE OF THE SNEAKER

The shoes are thus immersed in a state of slowdown caused by factors such as the fluctuations of an increasingly nationalistic Chinese market inclined to invest in indigenous brands. Added to this are the supply and inventory problems to which cult brands in the sector have been subjected, such as Nike either adidaswhich will have to deal with excess stocks and the loss of relevance of models such as the Dunk or Air Force 1.

RESALE MARKET

The sneaker resale market is similarly entering a kind of downward spiral in which retailers What StockX experience that decline. A state of sordidness in which the designs of rappers and their collaborations have also been plunged, which are now very far from that original fervor and hype that exalted their sneakers, and channeled their sold-outs frantically.

The discord and rupture between adidas Y Kanye West it also had a negative impact on the resale market and the brand market. Even so, the German firm has the direction of the new CEO, Bjørn Gulden, and with coveted collaborations such as that of Fear of God Athletics that will arrive at the end of the year. Nevertheless, Nikedespite having faced production problems or excess merchandise inventories, ended the year positively with a 17% increase in global revenue, reaching $13 billion at the end of November.

Within this new evolutionary scenario, specialized brands such as Salomon, Mizuno, Asics or New Balance are establishing themselves and positioning themselves in the global showcase as consumers seek alternatives to basketball sneakers, and collaborations are less and less salable.

That is why brands are channeling their energy and power into new strategies in the midst of a much more controlled market, and an increasingly aware public that no longer allows itself to be eclipsed by cash-grabs and/or exorbitant prices marked by the exclusivity. Thus, it has been seen that the models that have survived, and have even gained countless followers, are not the great design collaborations, but those classic silhouettes such as the Samba, projecting a new, still abstract and indefinite era for the footwear.