Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street

First unveiled by The Design Museum, London, Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street is showing exclusively at contemporary cultural precinct HOTA, Home of the Arts in Surfers Paradise, until February 18, 2024. 

In this exciting Australian premiere, Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street explores one of  the most universally designed objects, bought and worn by millions of people worldwide every day. 

The must-see blockbuster summer exhibition at HOTA Gallery will present more than 400 objects, including over 200 shoes, process material, photography, posters, videos and artworks, charting the design and cultural journey of sneakers.

From iconic collaborations that shaped the industry over the years with athletes including Chuck Taylor and Michael Jordan, sneakers like the Reebok InstaPump Fury, the Vans Half Cab, and the Asics  Gel Lyte III, which became cultural symbols of our time, to runway reinventions by Comme des  Garçons, Sacai, A-Cold-Wall* and Craig Green, this exhibition surveys a phenomenon that has  challenged performance design, inspired new youth cultures, and shaken the world of fashion.  

Looking towards a future of sustainable footwear, the exhibition also shines a light on the designers working to make this industry change, from plant-based sneakers by brands including Veja and Native Shoes, to customised designs from Helen Kirkum and Alexander Taylor.

The first chapter of the exhibition, STYLE, examines the influence of social movements and youth culture on sneakers. Originating in New York during the 1970s, the basketball and hip-hop communities elevated the sneaker from sportswear accessory to cultural symbol through the likes of Clyde Frazier and Run-DMC.

The exhibition follows the ongoing story of the global evolution of sneakers style, from its origins through to the impact of high end fashion collaborations and celebrity endorsements including Colette, Sean Wotherspoon and Travis Scott with Nike, and Pharell for Adidas.

The second chapter, PERFORMANCE, explores the new technologies, processes and materials by designers in sport science, in a quest to make their shoes technically the best. From the iconic early Converse ‘Big 9’ and materials from basketball clinics run by Chuck Taylor in the 1950s, to the record breaking Nike ‘Alphafly NEXT%’ and self-lacing ‘Fit Intelligence’ shoe by Puma.

The exhibition also features a number of unseen prototypes alongside futuristic designs from the past and present. A journey through the design process behind today’s most inventive shoes, examples include a brand using blockchain certification, the world’s first biologically active shoes developed by MIT Design Lab and Biorealize for Puma.

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