Sports shoes are now in fashion. It is worn by both young people and adults. Recently, eclecticism has been trending - a combination of styles. Girls wear sports shoes with dresses, men wear classic costumes. This type of shoe has become a symbol of democracy, freedom and convenience. Let's remember the story and talk about when the first sneakers in the USSR appeared and what they were, because most readers remember this comfortable and fashionable shoe well.
Revival: iconic sneakers
In 2016, a young designer and entrepreneur Yevgeny Raikov gave compatriots the very gym shoes! He took the matter seriously. I found the very factory in China that sewed Soviet sneakers. The Chinese have no old patterns. I had to create new patterns, based on samples of finished products of the Soviet era. I must say that the project has become quite successful. Lot of shoes under the brand name "Two Balls" diverge like hot cakes.
Ancestors of sports shoes
About a hundred years ago, gym shoes were intended exclusively for people who were professionally involved in sports. No one could even think that these sports shoes would become so trendy. Throughout the history of the development of sneakers gradually turned into a landmark phenomenon. Now they have become a cult subject. Shoes adore many people around the world.
The first shoes, similar to sneakers, appeared in the thirties of the XIX century. Oddly enough, but it was created for walks along the beach. The first sand shoes sneakers were called. Where did the modern name come from?
It was first mentioned in 1916. The name came from the Keds shoe brand. If you dig deeper, it is worth remembering the year 1892. Then there was a merger of nine factories that made rubber shoes. They were united under the same name as the US Rubber Company. Goodyear also joined the union. She owned the rights to vulcanization technology, and her specialization was the production of shoes with rubber soles and canvas tops.
The first name of this shoe sounded like peds. It arose because in most cases they were worn by the poor. In American slang, such people were called "peds." But it turned out that such a name already exists, and it had to be replaced. Since the brand that produced sneakers was aimed at children and adolescents, marketers came up with the words kid and ped. If not for this, then everyone’s favorite shoes would still have the name “peda”.
The excitement around fashionable shoes began in 1917. Then American Marcus Converse launch a line of sneakers for professional basketball players. Today it is difficult to find a young man who does not know this model. These are the legendary Converse All Star.
Chuck Taylor and the famous "Chucks"
You may have heard that these sneakers are also called "chucks." Where did the strange name come from? The fact is that in 1919 the “converse” was worn by an athlete who became a basketball legend. He was the first to enter the basketball hall of fame. Marcus Converse invited him to become the face of the brand. Later, the sneakers he advertised became known as Chuck Tayor All Star. In youth slang, they acquired the name "chaki".
Chuck not only advertised shoes, but also took part in improving shoes. The round stripes that you can see from the inside of the sneakers are his invention. They are designed to protect the ankles.
After a while, other athletes began to train at Converse All Star. In 1950, a third of all NBA athletes became fans of the "converse." American sneakers have long broken all records in their segment. Over the course of history, 800 million copies have been sold.
There have been tough times in the history of the “converse”. In the 1940s, all US forces were thrown into the military industry, it was not until the release of fashionable shoes. The textile industry worked to provide uniforms for fighters. Because of this, they almost stopped producing sneakers. The brand returned to its former volumes only in 1966. Then the competitors of Mark Converse began to raise their heads.
Japanese Wonder Sneakers
In 1951, the Japanese began to make shoes for basketball players. They approach this matter with their characteristic scrupulousness. Kihachiro Onitsuka with Onitsuka Tiger creates a sole that has no analogues in the world. Later, the brand will be called Asics. The design is designed according to the principle of operation of the octopus suction cups. The technology provides excellent adhesion of shoes to the surface on which basketball players run. When in the XXI century they undertook to reprint this and subsequent models, the line made a splash!
Youth festival
Let's move on to the sneakers of the USSR. How did American shoes get into our country, despite the Iron Curtain? They were first seen in the USSR in 1957. The fact is that at that time the Sixth World Youth Festival was held. Students gathered from all ideologically free continents and socialist camps. Boys and girls from noble exemplary families were shod in patent leather shoes, but progressive youth in American sneakers.
Exclusively in accordance with GOST
Shoes began to slowly acquire relevance, and sneakers in the USSR began to be made in small volumes. Shortly after the youth festival, GOST for these products was approved. Sneakers in the USSR (pictured below) were numbered 9155-88.
There were also foreign analogues of sports shoes in the USSR, they only came to the shelves not from the liberal USA. The USSR’s quality criteria were more suited to shoes from North Korea and China. Most likely, politics was tied up here. In 1968, sneakers from Finland appeared in the country. It is interesting that they were imported under the Nokia brand. We now know this brand as a manufacturer of mobile phones. The company logo, by the way, has not changed since the 60s.
Sneakers in the USSR were produced in huge volumes. In the 60s, all schoolchildren wore them, students put them on potatoes. Men's sneakers in the USSR were worn by workers at all construction sites. This trend can be seen by watching Soviet films. Women also wore these shoes with pleasure.
If the couple suddenly broke, then you could buy a replacement in every sporting goods store. There were a lot of these stores in the USSR. The Czechs, who were worn earlier in physical education classes, were tired of everyone. Sneakers were much more comfortable.
Ten years after the legendary festival, this sports shoe entered the life of Soviet citizens very tightly. Sneakers from the USSR have another name. In 1979, in the novel by Eduard Limonov, "It's me, Eddie," the name "sneakers" first appears. Also, the name was popularized by Viktor Tsoi.
We remember sneakers in the Soviet cinema. They were worn by Electronics, friends Petrov and Vasechkin. Even Sharik from Prostokvashino preferred these sports shoes. But the most colorful cartoon character in sneakers was the wolf from “Well, wait a minute!”.
Sneakers "Red Triangle"
Every fall, a television report from the Red Triangle factory is shown on television. Brand-new sneakers of different colors come off its conveyors. Despite the fact that the shoes were very simple, millions of children and adolescents are in love with her.
In the mid-seventies sneakers conquer all generations from small to large. They go jogging, go on dates, walk in parks, work in factories. "Red Triangle" produces sneakers at a very affordable price. Every year, factory workers sew millions of pairs of sports shoes. Buying sneakers in small towns was hard. Mostly they went to Moscow and Leningrad. People stand in line for hours, but they leave the shops with joy on their faces - they bring home the Red Triangle sneakers. In the USSR, an ordinary couple cost 3 rubles. More expensive were the Two Ball sneakers. They cost 4 rubles. We will talk about them below separately.
The appearance of Soviet sneakers
A little higher are presented in the photo sneakers "Red Triangle" (USSR). Shoes had a sole in red or milky shade. One could also find completely red sneakers in the USSR. The seam clearly marked the transition from the sole to the textile upper. Laces were most often white. Their tips are made of metal. In the ankle area on the inside of the sneakers had protective round stripes that resembled a ball.
Sneakers "Two balls" - a dream of Soviet youth
"Two balls" is a line of sneakers that were sewn in China. This was an example of successful cooperation between China and the union. Two Ball sneakers were an order of magnitude better, but Chinese shoes were much more difficult to get.
Such parties were much better than the sneakers sewn in the union, because in the USSR they used injection molding technology, and in China they used hot vulcanization. An orthopedic insole came with Chinese-made sneakers. The fabric from which the top was made was also much stronger. The colors and design of sports shoes also differed greatly from domestic counterparts. This made Two Ball sneakers almost a cult item.
The Chinese manufacturer offered several colors of shoes. Blue sneakers had a strong sole of a shade of bottle glass. Shoelaces and toe remained snow-white. From the inner side in the bone area, the legendary emblem with a soccer and a basketball.
The most expensive were the two-ball white sneakers. They were several times more expensive than color counterparts. Some fashionistas bought colored shoes and boiled it to a state of whiteness.