Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum has an exhibition on right now that is all about sneakers. It's called Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks. I haven't been to it yet, but it's on the list. Because this is interesting to me for a few reasons.
One, shoes are important and, as a general rule, I always wear them when I leave the house. Though there may have been some exceptions to this general rule.
And three, sneakers are such a great example of a clothing device that went from utility (we need to protect our feet) to fashion (we all have a desire to express our unique identities) to art collectible (yes, lots of people buy shoes that they never actually wear).
So if you're looking at stuff like NFTs and digital fashion and scratching your head as to why they have any value, sneakers are probably a good place to look to help you understand why many of us seem to have a need to collect things that help us define our sense of self.
Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum has an exhibition on right now that is all about sneakers. It's called Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks. I haven't been to it yet, but it's on the list. Because this is interesting to me for a few reasons.
One, shoes are important and, as a general rule, I always wear them when I leave the house. Though there may have been some exceptions to this general rule.
And three, sneakers are such a great example of a clothing device that went from utility (we need to protect our feet) to fashion (we all have a desire to express our unique identities) to art collectible (yes, lots of people buy shoes that they never actually wear).
So if you're looking at stuff like NFTs and digital fashion and scratching your head as to why they have any value, sneakers are probably a good place to look to help you understand why many of us seem to have a need to collect things that help us define our sense of self.
The global luxury goods market is somewhere around US$300 billion if you exclude fancy cars. And in just 4 years, global luxury spending has flipped from over 60% of it being in Europe and the Americas, to now over 60% of it being in Asia -- with over 40% of it being in mainland China alone. See above chart from the
The global luxury goods market is somewhere around US$300 billion if you exclude fancy cars. And in just 4 years, global luxury spending has flipped from over 60% of it being in Europe and the Americas, to now over 60% of it being in Asia -- with over 40% of it being in mainland China alone. See above chart from the
But I think what really happened is that when global travel shutdown in 2020, Chinese buyers just started spending all of their luxury goods money at home instead of flying to Paris for the week. Because if you look at Chinese luxury goods spending in 2018, somewhere around 1/4 of it was done in mainland China, whereas today it's close to 100%.
So the Chinese have been moving this market for quite sometime. But now that the consumption has moved entirely home, what does that mean for cities around the world? Hong Kong used to be one of the most important places for luxury consumption in Asia (no sales tax), but that has changed and it probably won't return. This is for reasons that go far beyond luxury goods.
But I think we'll see spending in Europe bounce back along with Asian travel. Because buying a luxury good is about much more than just the good itself. It's about the experience. It's about how it makes you feel when you buy it. And it's about signalling to others who you are as an individual. This may sound vacuous, but we all do it, with or without expensive luxury goods.
There are also new opportunities emerging by way of NFTs. I am sure that some brands are already doing this, but if I were in charge, I would issue a unique NFT with each luxury goods purchase that records, among other things, where it was purchased. Is a bag purchased on the Champs-Élysées worth more if there is a record of it that is etched in stone permanently? Maybe.
I have remarked this before, but I’ll say it again anyways: sneakers are very popular in Paris. Everybody seems to be wearing cool and colorful sneakers, regardless of what the rest of their outfit happens to look like.
Full business suit? Why yes, you should be wearing cool sneakers.
But why is that?
Paris is a famously walkable city. At any given time, you’re on average just about 500m from the closest subway station. So my entirely unproven sneaker theory is this: shoes follow built form.
If you build a city around people walking everywhere, one will ultimately choose the most appropriate kind of footwear.
But I think what really happened is that when global travel shutdown in 2020, Chinese buyers just started spending all of their luxury goods money at home instead of flying to Paris for the week. Because if you look at Chinese luxury goods spending in 2018, somewhere around 1/4 of it was done in mainland China, whereas today it's close to 100%.
So the Chinese have been moving this market for quite sometime. But now that the consumption has moved entirely home, what does that mean for cities around the world? Hong Kong used to be one of the most important places for luxury consumption in Asia (no sales tax), but that has changed and it probably won't return. This is for reasons that go far beyond luxury goods.
But I think we'll see spending in Europe bounce back along with Asian travel. Because buying a luxury good is about much more than just the good itself. It's about the experience. It's about how it makes you feel when you buy it. And it's about signalling to others who you are as an individual. This may sound vacuous, but we all do it, with or without expensive luxury goods.
There are also new opportunities emerging by way of NFTs. I am sure that some brands are already doing this, but if I were in charge, I would issue a unique NFT with each luxury goods purchase that records, among other things, where it was purchased. Is a bag purchased on the Champs-Élysées worth more if there is a record of it that is etched in stone permanently? Maybe.
I have remarked this before, but I’ll say it again anyways: sneakers are very popular in Paris. Everybody seems to be wearing cool and colorful sneakers, regardless of what the rest of their outfit happens to look like.
Full business suit? Why yes, you should be wearing cool sneakers.
But why is that?
Paris is a famously walkable city. At any given time, you’re on average just about 500m from the closest subway station. So my entirely unproven sneaker theory is this: shoes follow built form.
If you build a city around people walking everywhere, one will ultimately choose the most appropriate kind of footwear.
