Sneakers

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Sneakers covers nearly everything there is to know about the vast universe of everyone’s favorite comfy athletic shoes.”—Parade

“A beautifully assembled collage of image, experience, and inspiration.”—Vogue

"One of this year's coolest books."—Men's Journal

"The definitive story of the sneaker universe."—WSJ Magazine

Featuring exclusive interviews with Virgil Abloh (Off-White), Daniel Bailey, Ronnie Fieg (Kith), DJ Clark Kent, Serena Williams, Alexander Wang, Kobe Bryant and many, many others. 

Through honesty, intimacy, intelligence, and swagger, Sneakers amounts to a singular rubber-soled taxonomy, a global group portrait of a culture that’s both personal and public, driven by commitment and curiosity, and sustained by our definitive cast of storytellers, historians, and artists. 

An absolute necessity for design devotees and sneakerheads of all ages! Sneakers is a definitive exploration of the cultural phenomenon of sneakers, now an 85-billion-dollar-a-year industry. This gift-worthy book features 320 pages of photos and interviews with industry gurus, sports legends, and celebrities in a stunning package created by celebrated designer Rodrigo Corral.
 
The book’s carefully-curated list of participants takes readers to the center of the action. Edson Sabajo, owner of Amsterdam’s seminal sneaker boutique, Patta, leads a sneaker hunt that starts in the back-alleys of Philadelphia and ends in the Middle East. Jeff Staple, designer of a pair of sneakers that resells for $6000, recalls the sneaker riot his design kicked off on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2005. Jim Riswold dishes on making commercials with Michael Jordan. Ronnie Fieg explains the collaborative magic of KITH. Adidas’s Rachel Muscat and Jon Wexler get philosophical about their star collaborator, Kanye West. Nike’s legendary Tinker Hatfield takes a glimpse into the future.  Professional tennis player Serena Williams shares an exclusive reveal. And much, much more. From its arresting cover design and thought-provoking interiors to the unprecedented depth of its first-person accounts, Sneakers is an absolute must-have for sneaker lovers and anyone who is interested in design, creative process, street culture, branding, entrepreneurship, art and fashion.

Rodrigo Corral runs the Rodrigo Corral Art + Design Studio and is the creative director at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and New Directions. With a focus on conceptual art, he designed the New York Times bestselling books Decoded by Jay-Z, Classy by Derek Blasberg, Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and the book and film identity for The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. He has also created covers for the Pulitzer Prize–winning author Junot Díaz, and bestselling authors Chuck Palahniuk and Jeff Vandermeer. He has taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and lectured around the country. Through it all, Rodrigo remains deeply committed to pushing the visual possibilities in art, in sports, and throughout the universe.


Alex French is an Esquire contributing editor. His journalism has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Wired, Grantland, Surfer, Buzz Reads, and This American Life. He is the author of the bestselling Kindle single The Killing Season. He lives on the Jersey Shore with his beautiful wife and two children.


Howie Kahn  is a contributing editor for WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine and editor in chief of the acclaimed Prince Street podcast. A James Beard Award winner, Kahn's journalism has appeared in GQ, Wired, Travel + Leisure, and numerous other publications. His collaborations with Alex French began with a series of popular oral histories for the late, great website Grantland. Kahn lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.