Sole-Zine x The Block P: Nike Air Max 95 and the Liverpool style protagonists

This research explores how the Nike Air Max 95 (AM95) operates as a culturally charged object within men’s fashion, subcultural identity and localized style practices. The central enquiry asks how the AM95 functions as a symbol of masculine identity, status and community belonging within Liverpool, addressing a gap in critical fashion studies regarding footwear’s role as a material and symbolic marker in regional masculinities and subcultural formations. This photo essay employs a combined ethnographic and visual methodology, developed in collaboration with Sole-Zine, The Block P and members of Liverpool’s trainer community. Through photographic documentation, participant observation and informal interviews, it presents visual and discursive narratives that illuminate the AM95’s role in expressing gender, taste and forms of consumer loyalty. Findings indicate the AM95 is not merely a fashion commodity but a deeply embedded cultural artefact that signifies male belonging, working-class pride and generational style inheritance. The shoe functions as a symbol of subcultural capital, mediated through localized networks and collective practices of display. This work contributes to critical men’s fashion discourse by illustrating how a single style of trainer can highlight the broader themes of identity, obsession, style and place.