Who made the cut? FN debuts a new franchise highlighting the “Greatest Shoes of All Time.”
WHETHER IT'S POP CULTURE NOTORIETY, LONGSTANDING HISTORY OR THE SHEER UBIQUITY OF GRACING MILLIONS OF FEET, THESE 19 SHOES DESERVE THEIR WALK OF FAME.
ADIDAS SUPERSTAR
Originally made in 1969 for basketball players and worn by legends such as Kareem AbdulJabbar and Jerry West, the Adidas Superstar’s impact wouldn’t be fully realized until 1986, when New York rap trio Run DMC penned an anthem dedicated to it. The song “My Adidas” solidified the silhouette as a hip-hop staple. For the shoe's 50th birthday, Adidas granted access to a diverse group of collaborators — from Prada to actor Jonah Hill — to reimagine the look.
AIR JORDAN
In 1985, Peter Moore created the court-ready Air Jordan 1 for then-NBA rookie Michael Jordan. Thirty-five years later, MJ is still recognized as the greatest basketball player of all time, and his first signature model is a staple in every sneakerhead’s collection, with countless iterations of the shoe selling on the resale market for tens of thousands of dollars. G.H. BASS WEEJUN
The penny loafer style originally got its name from a type of field shoe that British sportsmen used to find in Norway when they went on fishing trips. In 1936, shoemaker G.H. Bass brought the style to the U.S., adding as an extra touch a little cutout where one could place a penny for good luck. The label’s latest iteration is a collaboration with sportswear brand Fred Perry (founded by the three-time Wimbledon British tennis player). GUCCI HORSEBIT LOAFER
In 1953, just as he was bringing his family’s leather goods business to the U.S., Aldo Gucci (son of the label’s founder, Guccio Gucci) created a loafer with horsebit hardware detailing. In the next three decades, the loafer would become a significant totem of American Yuppie style, appearing in the Preppy Handbook for years. It received a makeover of sorts when Alessandro Michele added fur lining to Princetown in 2015, but the original leather slide still stands strong.
STUART WEITZMAN NUDIST
The American shoe designer has plenty of greatest hits when it comes to boots, but it's a simple two-strap sandal that has received the most buzz in the past seven years, thanks to its ubiquity on the red carpet. Since the sandal's debut in 2013 (on the heels of Diane Kruger), the Nudist has inspired a whole class of minimalist sandals built to flatter.
BIRKENSTOCK ARIZONA
The debut of the two-strap Arizona in 1973 coincided with the brand's entry into the U.S. market, after Margot Fraser discovered the shoes on a spa trip to Germany in 1966 (she first began selling Birkenstocks at health food stores in California). Though the sandal is often imitated, its frequent designer collaborations with a rotating cast of big names (Rick Owens and, recently, Proenza Schouler) have made it a bona fide fashion icon.
CONVERSE CHUCK TAYLOR ALL STAR
At more than 100 years old, the sneaker is tied to decades of iconic pop culture figures. The shoe, worn on-court by basketball legends Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, was a staple of Sex Pistols frontman Sid Vicious during the 1970s punk craze and also was a favorite of gangster rappers including Ice Cube and part of the look of the Nirvana-led grunge era.
TIMBERLAND 6-INCH
After developing the first injection-molded sole in 1965, the Abington Shoe Co. launched its Timberland Waterproof Boot in 1973, a seamsealed, waterproof leather work boot that instantly became so popular that the brand changed its name to match it. The boot’s relationship to pop culture came in the 1990s, when hip-hop artists like Notorious B.I.G, Jay-Z and Nas began wearing them — and rapping about them — turning the boot into an undeniable street style staple.
VANS CHECKERBOARD SLIP-ON
Introduced in 1977 as the #98, Vans' casual canvas shoe was born from skate and BMX culture in Southern California. But its popularity would eventually expand beyond the region, thanks in large part to 22-year-old actor Sean Penn as the iconic Jeff Spicoli in the 1982 film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High." This year, the brand released a special edition of the style dedicated to the lovable slacker.
TORY BURCH REVA BALLET FLAT
In 2006, Tory Burch asked Vince Camuto to help her make a ballet flat that would be high quality but still affordable, with a rubber sole, an elastic heel and, of course, the designer’s giant logo hardware. In the first two years, Burch sold 250,000 pairs, retailing them for $195. By 2013, more than 5 million Revas had sold. “I never thought I’d be famous for a shoe,” said Burch’s mother, Reva Robinson, who was the inspiration for the shoe. Variations like the Minnie Travel are still available.
MANOLO BLAHNIK BB PUMP
The Spanish designer has been crafting pumps for more than 43 years — so it’s a surprise to know that his popular BB style was only created in 2009. “I often explore and try to create the perfect court shoe,” he said, citing his inspiration, Brigitte Bardot. Despite the heel, it was a pair of flats from “And God Created Woman” that influenced Blahnik. “I always think of how elegantly she walked, particularly in flats, and how women should learn from her how to do that gracefully as flats are not so easy to walk in and look feminine.”
STEVE MADDEN SLINKY
The 1994 sandal became the shoe for an entire generation of girls, tweens and teens, the thwack-thwack sounds of them heard in school hallways around the world. "The Slinky is like a Proustian memory," said Madden. "It is bigger than a shoe, it evokes a period of time." In 2017, the brand relaunched the style, appealing to the now-adult millennials to wear them a second time around. In 2019, a neon series of the sandals hit Urban Outfitters for the Gen Z crowd.
DR. MARTENS 1460
After finding an advertisement for Dr. Klaus Maertens’ air-cushioned sole in a shoe trade magazine, third-generation bootmakers the Griggs brothers licensed the technology and added it to a new boot style, which had a simple leather upper with a slightly bulbous toe. Fast forward some 60 years and the boot has gone from a counterculture symbol to a street style and festival staple, with Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber among its biggest fans today.
KEDS CHAMPION ORIGINAL
It may seem quiet compared to the much-hyped limited-edition kicks on the market today, but the Champion was the first sneaker (named so in the brand's advertising because the rubber soles made it possible to "sneak" around). Its minimal, low-key silhouette, outfitted in canvas, has allowed the shoe to remain relevant from 1916 to now. Today there are even glittery styles for brides, but an entire generation of 1980s and ’90s kids will remember the shoe as the pair they decorated with puffy paint.
NIKE AIR FORCE 1
The Bruce Kilgore-designed sneaker debuted in 1982, and even with a brief stint off retail shelves in the 1980s, they’ve never lost their popularity. Rap legends have penned songs professing their love for the iconic silhouette, affectionately nicknamed “Uptowns,” and Nike has worked with countless collaborators to remix this classic — although none is more beloved than the white-on-white version.
CROCS CLASSIC CLOG
Love them or hate them, there is no denying that Crocs has placed its rubberized footprint squarely in the pop culture canon. Its clog has come to define the ''ugly" fashion trend of the past few years, especially with its Balenciaga collab in 2017. After selling more than 600 million pairs worldwide since its 2002 inception, the shoe deserves its own holiday (October 23).
TEVA ORIGINAL UNIVERSAL
The sandal that helped build an entire brand was born in 1984, when a river guide strapped a pair of velcro watchbands to a pair of flip flops to ensure that his sandals wouldn't fall off in the the waters of the Grand Canyon. Long known as a dorky sandal, the style has enjoyed renewed popularity, thanks to clever fashion collaborations (from Anna Sui and more) and plenty of imitators. In April, the brand introduced a version made from the upcycled straps of previous sandals, bringing it all full circle. FOR THE FULL LIST OF THE GREATEST SHOES OF ALL TIME, HEAD TO FOOTWEARNEWS.COM
UGG CLASSIC SHORT
A staple of cold-footed surfers in the brand’s native Australia and on the beaches of California since the 1970s, the shearling-lined boot skyrocketed to pop culture fluency when Oprah shared it as one of her “Favorite Things” in 2000, gifting 350 pairs to her studio audience at the time. The boots quickly became a fashion must-have for everyone from Paris Hilton to “Sex and the City’s” Carrie Bradshaw, embodying the boho-maximalist look that came to define the decade.
CHANEL TWO-TONE
Having already established the tweed suit, the little black jacket and the quilted bag as her fashion icons, Coco Chanel turned to shoes in 1957, choosing a two-tone slingback style that was designed to be worn from day to night — and was contrarian to the match-your-shoes-to-your-dress rules of the time. The original heel stood at just 5 centimeters — a classic kitten height that is still available today.