The Four Hundred: India’s growing sneaker culture
Richard Newstead
While the United States hosts a large sneaker industry, with an attached influential, global fanbase, India may prove to be a dark horse in the making.
Sneaker culture originated in the United States, seeing its roots in the '80s when Nike signed a deal with then-emerging basketball star Michael Jordan, with his now legendary Air Jordan 1's hit the market in 1985.
Today, sneaker culture is not just for the athletes and hardcore collectors.
It has now permeated the luxury fashion industry and haute couture, making streetwear a cultural trend amongst younger celebrities and groups worldwide. Luxury designer brand Louis Vuitton did a collaboration with popular streetwear brand Supreme for its Fall/Winter 2017 show; showing the merging of styles, even at the most elite of brands.
India is now a Mecca for sneaker collectors, or ‘sneakerheads,’ with finding ways to integrate the latest styles into traditional Indian designer brands.
The subcontinent’s local scene truly began in 2016 as well-known brands such as Nike, Adidas and Fila introduced general releases to the country; although, with minimal interest to splurge on the pricier pairs. Leaving sneakerheads to go underground and depend on word-of-mouth in order to grab exclusive releases of high-end sneakers.
But recently, many mainstream consumers in India have focused their sights on streetwear, especially sneakers, in part because of what's trending on social media as well as growing disposable incomes amongst Millennials and Gen-Z.
Instagram influencer and Youtuber Karan Khatri gained a large following for his informative episodes that give new sneakerheads an introduction and tips and tricks to thrive in the culture.
With 39.3K subscribers to "India's Biggest Hypebeast," Khatri shares his love for sneakers after years of collecting with videos detailing how to keep your sneakers clean, how to know if the sneakers you bought are real or fake, and of course, many unboxings with rare pairs.
In the fashion world, a ‘Hypebeast’ refers to a person who is a streetwear style enthusiast, always searching for the highly-sought-after clothing items that others cannot obtain.
His Instagram profile is packed with trendy portraits of him with color coordinating outfits with his newest pickup of exclusive pairs, and as of March 2020, he has a massive fan base of 69.5K Instagram followers.
Khatri is one of the many young sneakerheads in India who influences streetwear brands and the thriving sneaker scene, bringing with it a wave of popular sneaker websites opening their orders up to India.
Hypebeast, GOAT, Highsnobiety, and StockX are some of the most prominent blogs updating followers around the globe about the trends and releases of the sneaker market, but with the rise of the scene in India, more locally-based stores are beginning to deliver.
VegNonVeg, a Delhi-based, multi-brand sneaker store, is one of the growing sneaker businesses catering to the Millennial sneakerhead population in India.
The sleek website mimics the well-known exclusive drop site "GOAT" with unique designs and color combinations on Pumas, Nikes, and Adidas that aren't released on the official website.
"Over time, we are committed to developing India's own story of sneaker and street culture," VegNonVeg writes on its website, "It will be a venue for music, a studio for art, a room for debate, and a place to party."
And VegNonVeg is not the only place that Indian consumers can find eclectic and exclusive kicks sold in rupees.
An online store that meshes traditional ethnic Indian colors and cutting-edge styles is Superkicks, a Mumbai-based online global market.
Superkicks founder Sangeet Paryani got inspired by joining his father's business, Mayank Distributors Pvt Ltd, a retail company for footwear and apparel brands. From then on, Paryani noticed the shift in culture for people being more brand conscious and looking at apparel and footwear as a lifestyle product instead of just a functional item of clothing.
"And the set of people that are also very important . . . are the bunch of consumers in India who are ready to explore something new in life and would love to have a pair of sneakers which has much more meaning than just style and comfort and color," Paryani tells Fibre2Fashion in an interview, "They are the ones looking for sneakers with a story behind it which they can cherish forever."
And what better place for these sneakerheads to convene and talk street-focused fashion? The Delhi Kicks Xchange.
The massive sneaker meetup, otherwise known as "DKX: House of Grails," invites streetwear enthusiasts from all over India since its establishment in 2017 by founder Atul Sharma. The event has grown larger each year, with multiple meetup locations in Bangalore, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
The meetup aims to allow other sneaker collectors and streetwear fanatics to show off their exclusive finds and how they stylize them, creating a narrative about the importance of street style to them.
Attendees can browse exclusive resell market items, listen to India's hip-hop scene's rising stars, and possibly run into famous social media influencers.
Its last event was hosted in December 2019, and while there has not been any news on a 2021 meetup, the sneakerheads in solitude can stay updated through Sneaker Talk India, the host of DKX.
The pandemic has definitely not stood in the way of sneakerheads finding new kicks or exclusive pairs, and especially for the younger, affluent population of India, they are seeing streetwear integrate itself onto runways.
Ajio, an Indian online shop for all things apparel and homeware, launched a separate online store dedicated to sneakers--Sneakerhood. Last October, it had announced its arrival with a virtual show on the fashion week schedule.
And as consumer trends shift, India can expect more sneaker experiences for the modern Millennial, virtual or not.