Culture
Part One - Late ’70s/early ’80s
CASUAL CULTURE
by Sneaker Freak
NOWADAYS everyone, even your dad, probably owns a pair of trainers, with most fathers preferring your white modern running variety – see Reebok Classics, or something by Hi-Tec.
However, there was a time when sports shoes were exactly that – shoes that were only seen on the sports field.
Sure US brands such as Converse Chuck Taylors, PF Flyers and Keds had been around since the year dot, with both brands favoured by the likes of the American high school students, just check out John Travolta’s mates in Grease, but when I was a kid trainers were only really worn by the stars of track and field.
This really started to change in the late seventies thanks to a new breed that was emerging at the time – the football casual. In the post-punk revolution of ‘78/79, Adidas Samba ruled the terraces of Anfield and Goodison, before Puma struck back with its Argentina (blue leather, white stripe) and the much sought after Puma Menotti (red leather, white stripe).
In May 1981, Liverpool played Real Madrid in the European Cup Finals in Paris, which was a chance for fans to go mad, not only in the stadium, but also in the shops, with the latest must-have European labels up for grabs.
Clothing labels popular at the time included: Fila, Stone Island, Fiorucci, Pepe, Benetton, Sergio Tacchini, Ralph Lauren, Lyle & Scott, CP Company, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Lacoste, Kappa, Pringle, Burberry, Slazenger and Adidas.
Two of the most popular shoes sported on the terraces were Adidas’s Trimm Trabb and Stan Smith, unusual as Stan Smith was actually an American tennis player from the 1940s, but the clean asthetic of both sneaks appealed to fashion conscious footie fans.
Nowadays the clothing labels may have changed for the imaged obsessed fans, with labels such as Prada, Façonnable, Hugo Boss, Fake London Genius, One True Saxon, Maharishi, Mandarina Duck, 6876, and Dupe gaining widespread popularity, but the thanks to re-issues of the old favourite trainers, it’s now possible to relive the old days, just remember, best leave the Hi-Tecs to your dad.
to be continued…
