INSPIRATION THROUGH INSOLES: THE DECEMINATION OF CULTURE THROUGH SKATE SHOES

Subcultures have historically appropriated various objects from within the greater parent culture that they were born out of for their own means Through this appropriation of objects from within the broader cultural zeitgeist, members of a subculture were able to incorporate them into their own groups, giving the object new meanings, and by extension, adding to the item’s history. For the skateboarding subculture, among the objects appropriated for their use, footwear holds an incredibly significant place. Various types of modern sneakers have all found themselves as crucial equipment for the skateboarder. Thorough documentation of the use of sneakers by skateboarders would subsequently add to the history of the sneaker or form a new unique history for it. Therefore, due to the appropriation and subsequent modification of what these objects could communicate to others, sneakers play a fundamental role within the skateboarding subculture, with their influence within skateboarding even being able to transcend into the dominant culture that surrounds society. In addition, sneakers are culturally and historically significant markers of identity that go through lengthy design processes, usually being worked on by individuals with backgrounds within various fields of the arts. The modern sneaker is often aesthetically pleasing and artistically inclined in their design, with design processes undergoing great lengths. Therefore, sneakers can be regarded as art objects, a challenge to formalist conventions of identifying something as a valid form of art. Using various examples of footwear from originating within both the dominant culture and well as the subculture of skateboarding, it will become clear that there exists a multidirectional exchange in the dissemination and appropriation of sneakers and the subsequent cultural capital to be had from wearing them.