WHAT FAST FASHION DID TO THE SHOE

ON THE COST OF CHEAP FOOTWEAR, THE DECLINE OF SNEAKER QUALITY, AND WHAT WAS LOST WHEN VOLUME REPLACED CRAFT

SOMETHING WAS DECIDED IN A BOARDROOM, SOMETIME IN THE 1990S, THAT CHANGED WHAT A SHOE IS. NOT A SINGLE DECISION. A SERIES OF DECISIONS, MADE INDEPENDENTLY, BY PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER MET, IN DIFFERENT COMPANIES, DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, DIFFERENT DECADES. EACH DECISION INDIVIDUALLY RATIONAL. EACH ONE MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT WAS THE SYSTEMATIC REMOVAL OF QUALITY FROM MASS-MARKET FOOTWEAR.

WHAT CHANGED IN CONSTRUCTION

THE SHIFT FROM STITCHED TO ADHESIVE CONSTRUCTION WAS THE FIRST MAJOR REMOVAL. BONDING WITH ADHESIVE IS FASTER, CHEAPER AND REQUIRES LESS SKILLED LABOUR THAN STITCHING. THE TRADE-OFF IS PERMANENCE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. A GLUED SOLE CANNOT BE REPLACED. WHEN IT FAILS, THE SHOE FAILS. THE AVERAGE LIFESPAN OF A MASS-PRODUCED GLUED SNEAKER IS BETWEEN EIGHT AND EIGHTEEN MONTHS. THIS IS NOT A TECHNICAL LIMITATION. IT IS A FEATURE. A SHOE THAT LASTS EIGHT MONTHS MUST BE REPLACED. THE ECONOMICS OF DISPOSABILITY ARE MORE FAVOURABLE TO THE MANUFACTURER THAN THE ECONOMICS OF QUALITY. THIS IS WHY QUALITY WAS REMOVED.

WHAT CHANGED IN MATERIALS

LEATHER IS EXPENSIVE. IT REQUIRES TANNERIES, TIME, SKILLED GRADERS. SYNTHETIC MATERIALS ARE CONSISTENT, CHEAP AND EASY TO WORK WITH AT VOLUME. THE REPLACEMENT OF FULL GRAIN LEATHER WITH SYNTHETIC OR HEAVILY CORRECTED MATERIALS HAPPENED GRADUALLY, THROUGH A SERIES OF SPECIFICATION CHANGES THAT NO INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER WAS POSITIONED TO NOTICE. THE SHOE LOOKED THE SAME. THE PRICE CHANGED LESS THAN THE QUALITY DID.

WHAT WAS LOST

A WELL-MADE LEATHER SNEAKER FROM A SERIOUS MAKER, CONSTRUCTED TO LAST, BUILT FROM FULL GRAIN LEATHER THAT WILL DEVELOP AND IMPROVE OVER YEARS, IS A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT OBJECT FROM WHAT IS SOLD IN MOST SHOE SHOPS. NOT BETTER IN DEGREE. DIFFERENT IN KIND.

THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT PRIMARILY VISIBLE. IT IS FELT. IN THE WEIGHT OF THE SHOE. THE WAY THE LEATHER MOVES. THE SPECIFIC RESISTANCE OF A SOLE SELECTED FOR LONGEVITY RATHER THAN COST. THE KNOWLEDGE, CARRIED UNCONSCIOUSLY AFTER A FEW HOURS OF WEAR, THAT THE OBJECT ON YOUR FOOT IS COMPETENT. THAT IT WILL NOT FAIL. THAT IT WILL, IN FACT, IMPROVE.

THE MARKET REMOVED IT. A SMALL NUMBER OF MAKERS PRESERVED IT. 1812 ENGLAND MAKES LUXURY SNEAKERS IN ENGLAND. NO CORNERS TAKEN. NO QUALITY REMOVED.