Trainers: Over 300 Classics from Rare Vintage to the Latest Designs - Hardcover

An essential fashion statement, sports shoes are no longer designed simply for running or working out. It's not enough for a shoe to fit the wearer and be bouncy, it must have style, offer protection against injury and give the wearer enhanced performance potential, especially if they are endorsed by a cool sporting-world figure. In the late 1990s, people who would never go running selected trainers as their casual shoe. True enthusiasts purchased two pairs at once - one to wear, the other to keep shrink-wrapped and box-fresh as a future collector's item. The Nike Air Rift, with its split toe, for example, is a design classic. Trainers pays tribute to the cult popularity of this most versatile shoe, and charts its rise. With over 300 styles included, from old-school adidas to the newest lines from Reebok, from the legendary Converse All Star to Nike's latest high-tech Air Max, all photographed in full colour, this is the complete compendium of casual shoe style that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about trainers. In addition, there are several special feature spreads, which take a look at brand identity, endorsements from sportsmen and women, key advertising campaigns, celebrity trainer-wearers, street style and customisation. This is a must-have purchase for all trainer enthusiasts.

Neal Heard is an acknowledged trainer aficionado and vintage dealer who has sourced, collected and dealt in deadstock trainers since the early 1990s. He lives in Wales.