Category

FASHION

Looks copied from magazines, malls and music videos.

1. 1990 · #9

   Sneaker Culture and the Reebok Pump

   Reebok put a tiny basketball on the tongue of a sneaker. Naturally, everybody wanted to press it. Pushing the button moved air into a bladder inside the shoe, allowing the wearer to adjust its fit. At about $170 when unveiled in late 1989, the original Pump was hardly cheap. But the design carried its own demonstration wherever it went. Sneakers were no longer just equipment; they could show taste, loyalty, and how persuasive a teenager had been with their parents.