10 Skate Shoes That Changed Streetwear
Skateboarding’s influence on streetwear isn’t exactly a secret. For decades, brands of all stripes have borrowed from the gear skaters rock. Footwear, of course, is no exception. Some of the most iconic skate shoes like the Vans Half Cab or the Supra Skytop have inspired legions of imitators. At the same time, though, they’ve subtly informed the course of street fashion as a whole. As their popularity grew, their aesthetic seemed to rub off on the clothes we wore with them.
With that in mind, we decided to take a look some of the skate shoes that had a serious impact on streetwear. Given the number of contenders, this wasn’t an easy list to compile, but we narrowed it down to 10.
Etnies Sal 23
Pro shoes were still pretty rare when Etnies gave Sal Barbier—a Louisianan who made his name with H-Street before jumping to Plan B—his own signature model. At the time, the nod to Michael Jordan by way of a 23 on the heel seemed transformative. And the colorways—especially the combo of white upper and black sole—changed everything, too. Suddenly, athletic-inspired gear became cool, and legions of skaters were emulating Sal’s distinctive style.
Airwalk One
In 1992, skaters ditched skate shoes (after they were done cutting them down and duct taping them) in favor of PUMAs and adidas. Brands like Airwalk and Etnies reacted by creating stripped-down low-tops of their own. In the case of the former, the resulting product was the One, a model that borrowed flourishes from the PUMA Clyde. Soon, this shoe would be everywhere, and mall kids would run it for years after skaters moved on to less derivative footwear.
éS Koston 1
Eric Koston’s original signature shoe will always be remembered for one reason: it was the first skate shoe to include an air pocket, a feature that, prior to its release, existed only on more conventional athletic footwear. The model set off a trend that would eventually see skaters rock everything from tearaways to mesh shirts (often at the same time). That era might have officially concluded when Osiris released a Peter Smolik capsule that featured track pants with cuffs that you could Velcro to heels of your shoes—you know, so you wouldn’t shred them to pieces while you were shredding low ledges.
Vision Street Wear Hi-Top
For all its flaws, the neon nightmare that was Vision had a few redeeming qualities. No, we won’t forgive anyone for rocking its laughable berets, but its shoes—specifically, its high-tops—might have changed the game. With these kicks, Vision took the Chuck Taylors seen on many skaters’ feet in the ’80s and outfitted them with a tougher rubber toe and ollie guard. But it was the distinctive Vision Street Wear logo—which appeared on the shoes’ heel and tongue—that really set them apart. If you wore these, you at least looked like you were part of a subculture. That principle still guides streetwear brands today.
Vans Slip-On
Thanks to movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the Vans Slip-On became synonymous with the skate culture of a certain time. In the thirty or so years that ensued, the model weathered almost every trend imaginable, and today—with skate shoes still tending toward a minimalist look and feel—it’s as relevant as ever. In recent years, artists like Curtis Kulig and brands like Clot have put their stamp on the sneaker, but the staple colorways—including the iconic black-and-white checker—remain indisputable classics.
éS Muska
In 1997, éS released a still-ascendant Chad Muska’s first signature shoe. At the time, cargo pants—which the Muska helped popularize—were still cool, so it made total sense for the sneaker’s tongue to include a hidden stash spot. Was it a gimmick? Absolutely. But other brands would quickly bite it, and kids who aspired to be Chad could finally channel him by hiding whatever it was they needed to conceal in its pocket. This design flourish helped open the door for technical pants, vests and jackets of all sorts, which, to exactly no one’s surprise, looked uniformly ridiculous a couple of years later.
Nike SB Dunk Low
The Dunk Low marked Nike’s first successful foray into skateboarding. Thanks to the colorways it came in and the collaborations it inspired—including early versions with Chocolate, Zoo York, and others—the repurposed basketball shoe instantly became a sought-after item. In 2005, Nike dropped a version with Diamond Supply Co., which laced the Dunk in the iconic Tiffany & Co. turquoise and black. To this day, the shoe—which helped cement Diamond, originally a skateboard hardware company, as a streetwear heavyweight—fetches serious sums on eBay. New Dunk releases, meanwhile, continue to draw lengthy lineups worldwide.
Supra Skytop
The Supra Skytop defied logic. At a time when skate shoe designs were becoming more minimal, Chad Muska released a model that harkened to the high-tops of yore. And somehow it totally worked. The shoe was at once fashionable and skate-ready, and it immediately revealed that plenty of people wanted to wear a sneaker that rose high up on their ankles. In the years that followed, Supra would release four more iterations of the shoe, the most recent of which dropped last November. Naturally, the design has inspired its share of imitators, but Muska will always be credited with bringing the OG to the table.
Duffs KCK
By the mid-90s, the signature shoe thing had taken off in skating, and it was only a matter of time before Kareem Campbell—one of the most influential skaters of the day—would see his name on a pair of sneakers. When his model finally materialized, its Reebok Workout Low-inspired design—complete with a gum sole on both the black and white versions—became an instant classic. You can see traces of its DNA in shoes like Reebok’s recent collab with Palace. We’ll always respect the original, though.
Vans Half Cab
By 1992, skateboarding was changing. Tricks were becoming more technical, and boards and wheels were shrinking. Skaters were putting the high-tops of yesteryear under the knife and turning them into lows and mids. The Half Cab, a mid-top version of Vans’ iconic Steve Caballero shoe—one of the first signature models ever—was a response to that shift. The shoe drew an instant following, and more than 20 years later it continues to influence skate and non-skate shoe brands alike. Need proof? Look at how many sneakers owe a debt to its silhouette.