Skip to main content
Monday, November 9, 2026Nov 9
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

The rise of the sneaker subject of new museum exhibit

A shoe from the Jordan collection, bearing the "M" from Michael Jordan's signature, is displayed as part of the "Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. The Jordan sneaker collection comprises a large part of the exhibit, which hopes to trace sneakers' role in social history from origins in the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
A shoe from the Jordan collection, bearing the "M" from Michael Jordan's signature, is displayed as part of the "Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. The Jordan sneaker collection comprises a large part of the exhibit, which hopes to trace sneakers' role in social history from origins in the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) A shoe from the Jordan collection, bearing the "M" from Michael Jordan's signature, is displayed as part of the "Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, Wednesday, July 8, 2015. The Jordan sneaker collection comprises a large part of the exhibit, which hopes to trace sneakers' role in social history from origins in the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

By Associated Press 5 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – The sneaker is a force in fashion, music and sports, but where did it all begin?

With the rubber tree, of course, and that’s where senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack ventured for a new exhibit, “The Rise of Sneaker Culture,” at the Brooklyn Museum.

“I wanted to go all the way back to the sap of the tree – the rubber tree – and find out how and why the sneaker even came into existence in the first place,” said Semmelhack, from Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, a partner for the show with the American Federation of Arts.

The exhibit of about 150 shoes opens Friday and is ambitious in scope, spanning rubber production to Prada to the coveted kicks bearing basketball legend Michael Jordan’s name, along with his monumental endorsement deal with Nike. Semmelhack created the show after 15 years focusing on high heels, when she realized “there is no way I can ignore the sneaker because they are so important culturally.”

Sneakers, after all, are one of the few things people spend days in line to acquire. They’re the subject of songs and have helped turn multimillionaire athletes into fashion designers in the chase for the next hot pair.