The sole of fashion: How the pandemic impacted New Orleans’ sneaker scene

Stung by a recent breakup one week in April, D’Lane Compton decided some retail therapy was in order.

So Compton hopped online and ordered a pair of fancy shoes. But not designer slingbacks or fancy wingtips. They were a pair of Nike Air Max 97s, colored gray, which reminded Compton of the “silver bullet” design of the same type of shoe Compton wanted as a child. 

Compton touted the purchase on social media, putting pictures of the shoes on Twitter. The 97s are not Compton’s everyday sneakers. Retailing for about $170, they will join approximately 40 other pairs in Compton’s closet, part of the 33-year-old’s growing collection of fancy athletic footwear. 

Kenny Rubenstein looks over a Good Man Brand sneaker at Rubensteins in New Orleans on Thursday, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE

Compton is a confirmed “sneakerhead,” the term of art for aficionados of athletic-style footwear, most of which is never actually used for athletics. In recent years, sneakers have been steadily moving from the courts and tracks into boardrooms and offices as sneakerheads and other fashion-conscious folks opt more often for a less formal but more comfortable look. Coming on the heels of a pandemic during which many people worked from home — perhaps even shoeless — back-to-the-office fashion could include a healthy dose of sneakers.

In other ways, sneakers have increasingly begun to resemble their designer cousins. Not in appearance, but in price, exclusivity and status. Sneakers are a big business: estimates put the total market in the tens of billions of dollars annually, driven largely by familiar brands like Nike and Addidas, but also by specific designers, such as Kanye West, whose Yeezy line of shoes is a dominant force in the industry. 

The growth of the sneaker market reflects the desire of consumers to purchase luxury items, but ones that align with their values, said Brittany Bauer, an assistant professor of marketing at Loyola.

“They want some status symbol that represents them and their values,” she said. “Sneakers are a nice entry point into a luxury market because they are accessible.”

Some high-end designers have gotten in on the act: Valentino and Louboutin also sell sneakers. One of the hottest shoes is the designer Golden Goose sneaker, which retails for $500 or more and can be found alongside designer bags and other items in Magazine Street’s glitzy boutiques. 

Golden Goose sneakers line a display at Rubensteins in New Orleans on Thursday, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE

Sneakers’ trail from casual settings to the formal is not just visible on store shelves or market research, either.

Julia Fluellen, a junior at St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans, attended a recent formal in a red mini-dress and a pair of white Nike Air Force 1s. 

“I feel like the style going on now is wearing something super cute or dressy and making it a little more casual with the shoes,” she said. Plus, Fluellen noted, heel-wearers often take them off at balls and dances, so sneakers will enable her to have a good time and keep her feet more comfortable. 

She wasn’t the only one, either: several of her friends were also planning on wearing sneakers to the party.

“It’s super comfortable for the girls, but still cute and it’s not weird to do it anymore,” she said. 

Over the last two decades, sneakers have gradually taken on more and more cultural cachet. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it took root in urban centers first. And cities developed their own distinctive sneaker scenes.

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New Orleans is no different. The scene here is one that largely revolves around the stores that have blended footwear, event planning and attitude into a potent retail mix. New shoes are often released online and in stores at events known as “drops.” Stores use the drops to create retail events in themselves, with music, artists and other features not directly related to the shoe.

Sneakerheads often thronged these events, even if they didn’t walk out with the coveted shoebox.

But COVID, as it has with everything, wrought changes. 

“The pandemic, I think, put it to a halt for a second,” said Jarrad McKay, a New Orleans artist who counts himself as a sneakerhead. McKay has also live-painted at some sneaker drop events. “For a month or two…you couldn’t go out and buy sneakers. The online sales went crazy.”

Sneaker sales have almost always had a large online component. Apps like GOAT and StockX, as well as the Nike-owned SNKRS app, provide opportunities for brands as well as resellers to put shoes up for sale, creating a commodities market where some shoes can go for three or four times retail or more.

But online sales are often handled through lotteries or raffles, and sneakerheads complain about bots and resellers making it even more difficult to score the shoes.

“It made things harder to get,” McKay said.

But customers like Fluellen illustrate that sneakers are not just something to wear with hip casual clothes. More and more, they are pushing out once-formal styles.

Kenny Rubenstein holds an armful of popular shoes at Rubensteins in New Orleans on Thursday, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE

Kenny Rubenstein, owner of high-end men’s clothing Rubenstein’s store on Canal Street, said the days of the stiff dress shoe could be numbered.

“I don’t think I’m going to be selling a lot of leather-bottom shoes in the future,” he said. “People have realized I might as well be comfortable.”

But the change in shoe trends is not entirely a COVID thing, he said. Indeed, turn on any live sports show in recent years and you’re likely to see men wearing sneakers with their coats and ties.

“It was headed this way before COVID, but COVID enhanced it,” Rubenstein said. “The speed of the change got greater.”

Along with sneakers, customers are looking for softer, more comfortable fabrics, Rubenstein said. It’s forced a change in the Rubenstein’s shoe offerings, but he cautioned that you can’t just slap a pair of regular sneakers on your feet with your suit and call it cool. 

“It’s not really about putting the runners you wear every day,” Rubenstein said. “It’s a feel and a style.”

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