The Global Sneaker Market

The global sneaker market was valued at approximately$79 billion in 2020 and is predicted to reach $120 billion by 2026. Richard Xia, co-founder of Novelship, tells Augustman how we can navigate these streets

- Jonathan Ho

SNEAKERS, ONCE A SYMBOL OF ATHLETICISM, have transcended their primary function. At some point decades just after the world started paying attention to what Michael Jordan wore to his basketball games, sneakers became a $79 billion industry and a fashion symbol of our time.

From sportswear to couture houses, sneakers have not only made their mark as cultural commodities but also literal ones. In July 2020, right at a peak of a global pandemic, an online prize draw was held to decide which lucky few would win the privilege of spending US$2,000 on the latest Air Dior trainers. A couture house was releasing a pair of sneakers, the world's most expensive at the time, during an economic “pause caused by the cessation of global trade resulting from COVID-19. The Air Jordan is considered the Rosetta Stone of sneaker history, catching that transcendental moment of athletic greatness in the 1980s boosted by Jordan's gravity-defying stunts on the courts while debuting Nike's “Air-Sole” technology. Sure, they inspired amateur B-Ballers to His Airness' choice of athletic footwear but also inspire the luxury fashion industry? No one would have guessed.