[Tanya Melendez Escalante] Welcome to The Museum at FIT's online symposium devoted to shoes.
My name is Tanya Melendez Escalante and I am Senior Curator of Education and Public Programs.
It is my honor to welcome writer, Christyna Pourhabib,
who will discuss her book "The First Pair" that focuses on sneaker culture.
Enjoy the show.
[Christyna Pourhabib] My name is Christyna Pourhabib, I was born and raised in Los Angeles,
and I'm the editor of "The First Pair,"
a 176-page coffee table book that offers a glimpse into how sneakers reveal our own personal narratives,
and the editor of "The First Pair + The Next Pair,"
a 112-page double-sided journal in collaboration with Nike that highlights women in sneaker culture.
When I began working on my debut book "The First Pair," I started each interview with the question:
"what was the first pair of sneakers that made you feel fly?"
The first pair of sneakers that made me feel fly were the Air Jordan 11 Space Jams.
It was December 2009, and I was camping out for the first time in the underground parking structure of the Fox Hills Mall.
I'd found myself in similar situations before, talking about sneakers on the playground,
swapping "East Bay Magazine" catalogs at school, and even watching movies that highlighted the culture,
such as "Space Jam," "He Got Game," and "Like Mike."
But this was something entirely different.
And the feeling I had the next morning when they opened the doors and we ran to the different
stores to get our pairs was indescribable.
I remember smiling from ear to ear when I got home and opened the box
and saw those icy soles and that black patent leather wrapped around the shoe.
I was hooked. And each year I camped out for the new Jordan 11 holiday release.
From there, I became interested in more than just the shoe, but the actual story behind the shoe.
I never knew where my journey might take me, but I was curious about one thing—
the moment someone's life changed when they laced up a pair of shoes.
When I began working on "The First Pair," I had looked everywhere for something like it.
Growing up, sneakers and streetwear were always a way to express our individual styles,
and looking back I miss that feeling of exploration and self-discovery.
Sneakers and streetwear started in the streets with Black and Brown people,
and it was a collection of people who genuinely loved the culture.
You didn't buy a shoe because everyone else thought it was dope,
you bought a shoe because you genuinely rocked with it.
I missed the authenticity and the love that people had for a pair of shoes before shoes became somewhat of a commodity.
The process of buying shoes had changed completely.
Camping out turned to raffles, and with raffles, you'd go to the store, you'd get a little ticket,
maybe you knew someone that worked there and they will put a pair aside for you,
but usually, you were waiting to see if your number on the raffle ticket was called,
and then those raffles turned to apps and bots.
The authentic experience and love of chasing and hunting down a pair of shoes seemed to be lost completely.
I miss the community that was built on a single unanimous love of sneakers and fashion.
I created "The First Pair" because I wanted to uncover the stories of everyday sneaker lovers.
We've heard about the designers and influencers, and those stories are great,
but what about the people that actually give this culture life?
What about the people that look like me that you rarely see amplified or represented?
As a woman of color, it was important for me to add my voice and my perspective to the conversation.
"The First Pair" illustrates how sneakers reveal our own personal narratives
and become an entry point into the broader subjects of race, gender, class, and identity.
"The First Pair" opens with a quote from Charlie in remembrance of his childhood.
He shares, "I was six years old. Even at that age you know the value of the shoe
when you're cleaning every little mark or you're damn near beating up your friend who stepped on your shoes."
And he recalls being very infatuated with the Rockefeller guys and the idea of
taking care of yourself and having pride in how you look started with what was on your feet,
and it started with a fresh pair of white shoes.
Cameron Lee discusses safety and freedom while growing up in Los Angeles and shopping in the Fairfax district.
There were certain colors that he knew he couldn't wear in the hood, but once he entered the Fairfax district
and figured out the bus route, he was able to really express himself through his clothing
and not have to worry about what he was wearing or what colors that he had on.
Keith Clark, who recently passed away,
recalls the feeling of buying a pair of shoes for two of the kids in his neighborhood.
Their parents worked really hard to make ends meet, but they really grew up with very little,
and he felt so much pride in being able to give them something that he himself didn't have when he was growing up.
And I think it's just beautiful that even though he's no longer here with us
that his legacy lives on with these young boys and lives on with so many other people.
Asha's narrative explores self-identity as a woman interested in men's clothing and skate culture.
She had many conversations with her parents because she gravitated more towards the racks
of men's clothing versus women's clothing.
Um, she talks about Vashti being like an icon and seeing women being able to dress in men's clothing
and being able to acquire her first pair of Nike SB's and how monumental that moment was for her.
Gib, an immigrant to the U.S. from Bahamas, he shares putting cardboard
in the bottom of his Le Coq Sportifs to keep rocking them even after they had worn down.
He explains, "I wore them so much that I eventually had a hole in the bottom of my shoe.
I put cardboard in the bottom so I could still rock them.
I loved them that much."
And then we get to Jonathan. And Jonathan mourns the community he had as a teenager.
The people he met on Nike Talk and Vape Talk, at events like "Soul Doubt" and "Dunk Exchange,"
declaring that, "we don't have anything like that in sneaker culture anymore,"
and he begins his section talking about "we didn't become sneakerheads because we wanted to,
we just bought all the things we never had when we were younger
and then there was a community that came after that."
These stories take you on a journey into various moments of time and succeed in
detailing incredibly honest portrayals of past histories.
Whether funny, surprising, uncomfortable, or nostalgic, these moments ask you to consider the significance of objects,
and in this case the objects of sneakers and how they connect us to ourselves and to one another.
Every story started with the question "what was the first pair of sneakers that made you feel fly?"
and by the end of the book, you learned that it's so much more than just a pair of shoes.
Following "The First Pair," I released "The First Pair+, The Next Pair,"
in collaboration with Nike and their Air Max Accelerator program.
This compilation forms a single work that features conversations with legendary women
that have been instrumental in shaping sneaker culture,
and with some of the fresh faces that are forging new paths and shaping the future of the industry.
I approached this project in the same way that I approached my first book.
One of the most important questions I asked myself was "what are the stories that need to be told?"
The stories of women in sneaker and streetwear culture.
While women exist in this space, they are historically underserved and underrepresented.
From "shrink it and pink it" to size runs that are catered to men's sizing,
women are not seen in the messaging or production of products by brands.
Yes, we have seen minor changes in more recent years, but many women, especially women of color,
they express this frustration in feeling like they aren't seen or properly represented by brands and in the media.
I've also had many conversations with women where they describe constantly having to dispel the narrative
that women aren't really interested and or don't have a vast knowledge of sneakers and streetwear.
Partnering with Nike was an opportunity much bigger than myself.
I wanted this opportunity to be for all of the other women that are creating their own spaces in the industry,
that are using their talents, using their voices, and also uplifting other women in the process.
It was equally important for me to show recognition to the women that came before.
The women that really opened doors for myself, and for so many other women.
On "The First Pair +" side, I pay homage to some of those women that paved the way, including
Vashti, Beth Burkitt, Monica Monroe, Melody Asani, Marnie Gerber, Olivia Kim, Cheryl Swoops, and Jazzaray Allen Lord.
These women speak to the sneaker and streetwear culture that they stepped into
and how they've made space for the next generation.
Vashti reflects on being the first woman to design an Air Jordan in 2010,
but explains that in 2021, it's much cooler seeing other women designing sneakers for every brand.
She also affirms the women that are in this book and explains to them,
"I was a nobody—my parents are working-class immigrants, I don't come from money, I don't have a famous last name,
and I couldn't afford Jordan's or name brand anything until I had my own after-school job.
Yet, I became the first woman to design the Jordan. Anything is possible."
And I think what's so fascinating about all of these stories and all of these women is that they
have created something where they felt like a void existed.
And they've leaned on their own interests and been able to really support other women that also feel the same way.
Beth Birkett, founder of "Bethy's Beauty Supply,"
she speaks to this anger that she felt and being angry, but angry with the best intentions.
She shares, "I started Bethy's Beauty Supply because I was angry.
I thought 'why don't I see any women in streetwear?
Why is it so hard for us? Why is everything through this male lens?"
She also talks to women at the end of her section and says,
"it's okay not to be perfect, and it's okay not to always know exactly how things are going to go, and it's okay."
Monica Moreau, stylist to most of the new york rappers in the 90s, recalls having a storage unit filled with Air Force Ones.
She says "I remember one time [laughs] we bought so many that they wouldn't fit in my crossover truck.
I called Jay-Z's assistant and she sent over a flat brand to pick up the sneakers.
That's how important the Air Force Ones were to the culture."
Cheryl Swoops recalls sitting at the table with Nike when they told her that they wanted to create a signature shoe after her.
She says by the end of the conversation, "I was bawling. It wasn't because this was happening to me,
this was happening for so many young girls, but especially a little black girl who grew up in Texas with nothing."
"The Next Pair" side highlights a new generation of women
who aren't afraid to carve out room in an industry notorious for a lack of inclusion and representation.
These women have created the spaces they wish they had when they were growing up.
Frustrated with the gender disparity in London sneaker culture,
Angelique Collier created "Sheaker Magazine," one of the only women's sneaker magazines in the world.
Christina Keenan created a women's only, invite-only Instagram page called "If I Can't Wear Sneakers"
as a safe space for women to learn about sneakers and have resources for upcoming releases.
Liz Beecroft is a therapist that uses her love of sneakers to connect with the kids that she works with.
She noticed the conversations about mental health weren't really taking place within sneaker culture
and she's devoted her work to fusing sneaker culture and mental health together.
Benita Cooper honors black businesses that were destroyed in the Tulsa Race Massacre
through her store "Silhouette: Sneakers and Art."
There are many more women that you encounter in "The First Pair+ The Next Pair"
and many more stories left to be told.
This is what I find to be the most important part of my journey,
telling stories that need to be told.
Channing and Cassidy with "CNK Daily" a sneaker lifestyle site designed by women for women,
in "The Next Pair" section with an amazing quote.
They say, "sneakers bring you in, but the community keeps you here."
Even if sneaker culture has shifted a bit and doesn't quite look like what it looked like when we were coming up,
we are able to connect with one another and still find our own community again.
I'm excited to continue the conversation and create work that uplifts men and women of color in every space.
Thank you for your time. I truly appreciate it.