Most of the time, the hunt for rare sneakers will take buyers and sneakerheads alike on strange journeys through undiscovered and often somewhat controversial histories.
They can provide some fascinating looks into parts of the sneaker world that many do not even know exist, but in some cases, it is important to talk about the opposite.
There are, naturally, some sneakers which are so successful, popular or beloved that they become the template for everything that comes after, with both supply and demand in equal measures.
Here are some of the most influential sneakers ever made.
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star
There is no reason to delay here; Chuck Taylor is the reason you have a sneaker collection, and there is a reason why this century-old design still endures to this very day.
In 1921, semi-professional basketball player Chuck Taylor would be hired as a salesman by the Converse Rubber Shoe Company and would help to style one of the most iconic shoes ever made, working tirelessly to promote the shoes and basketball in general for four decades.
They were the primary shoe of the basketball world, and it would take the absolute best to stop them.
Nike Air Jordan 1
Very little needs to be said about one of the most important and acclaimed sneaker endorsements in history. Michael Jordan, one of the best players in NBA history and one of the most recognisable sports figures in the world, was convinced by Nike to allow them to make a sneaker.
The result was the high-top Air Jordan I, a sneaker silhouette that has been endlessly copied, been part of countless historic moments and spawned countless follow-ups and imitators as a result.
Without the success of the Air Jordan, the sneaker world as we know it would look impossibly different.
Reebok Pump
Released in 1989, Reebok’s daring, inventive and technologically advanced Pump shoe was very popular in its own right, but its signature inflatable cushion inspired an impossibly large wave of imitators, particularly after Dee Brown used them during the 1991 Dunk Contest.
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