Virgil Abloh, Paul Andrew, Alexander Wang and more are among those under 40 who are revolutionizing the shoe industry.
Source: 40 Under 40: Young Design Stars Who Are Making Bold Moves
About two years ago Footwear News was a magazine that would arrive in Foot Locker stores. Managers would read the copies and then pass the copy on to interested customers who noticed the cover. FN was the insider news company for footwear, but their online site was underutilized and didn’t capitalize on the importance the media company had in Footwear. The site completely revamped and basically became a lifestyle and footwear based content driven site. One of the biggest changes became their “sneakerhead” content which mirrored sites like SoleCollector and Nice Kicks. The site also implemented a heavy fashion lean and in a way appropriated elements of Hypebeast.
When the company posted their Top 40 Under 40 Executives in footwear a few days ago (May 1, 2018), nothing was said about it. Blogs and news sites shared the post and the people mentioned on the list shared it to their followers on LinkedIn. There was pride and congratulations about the Top 40. I was notified of the list and when I viewed it I realized there was an inherent problem with it:
Their list showed ZERO Blacks. ARCH is a site that spends a lot of time analyzing marketing campaigns, making predictions on the sportswear market and informing sneaker culture about footwear and the business. The site has never really delved into race or politics. I didn’t have to. ARCH and AHN (ARCH x Housakicks Network) remains dedicated to the culture and because we operate the site without worrying about the race of someone we’ve operated in a bubble ignoring the fact that the work we do in this culture is in fact different. Which takes us away from the title story /topic of this post.
This post is about the fact that Footwear News pushed their own cover story on the top 40 Under 40 Executives from their home page on their site after I wrote the article above asking Where Are The Black People. They replaced it with a post on the top 40 Under 40 Designers and littered the article with pictures showing Black designers. The problem is the post they created was rushed and not at all as beautifully crafted as the article on the Top 40 Under 40 for Executives which didn’t feature any Blacks and barely any Brown or Yellow; damn these colors are so simple and writing this feels shallow like I shouldn’t even spend time on it.
That is the problem though… if I don’t write about this and bring it up it becomes the standard and that standard even at a time when Nike is changing its corporate culture, still excludes Blacks from positions of authority in a business that basically began with Black and Latino culture.
Looking back at a post I wrote when the Nike Locker Room Culture story broke I made a statement that Nike was and is what it was because all companies are the same way. By default we are around people who are like us. This means that our networking is shaped by who we are and Footwear News created a Top 40 Executives list based on an industry that looks like them. Their Under 40 list matches Footwear News’ own executive staff. Here is a link to Footwear News’ Editorial Staff. Take a moment to look at it. Did you look? That editorial staff looks exactly like the Top 40 list they created for executives.
AND DOGGONEIT! That’s the problem. When the room isn’t diverse it simply isn’t as vital and informed as it could be.
While this site has never delved into issues of race (sneakerheads are more wide ranging than anyone understands), it was imperative that when I was informed of the lack of rank Blacks and Latinos have in a business and fashion born from Hip-Hop and Street style, that I had to write something. I didn’t even realize the two articles I’d written would resonate because I honestly thought my observations were adding on to a discussion that was already taking place. I was wrong. I’ve been looking and researching and there is very little written about the lack of Black executives in the footwear industry. An industry that profits off of Black athletes and entertainers. When you consider sneakers weren’t worn casually until Hip-Hop made Puma and adidas a part of the uniform and later added Nike to the mix, it’s only natural that the people who created the shift from sneakers worn for sports, to sneakers worn for casual, should benefit; but they haven’t. The discussion has taken place everywhere except in my own backyard.
I’m not attempting to attack Footwear News. They simply displayed an issue without even considering how it would look if someone paid attention. Now imagine had a sister or a brother, Latina/Latino, Black, been sitting at the table at FN when they were building the initial list… I am willing to bet anything someone would have been like, “Damn, no brothers?” This doesn’t mean that FN should go out and hire a black person all willy nilly.
and this is important
It also means that token hires aren’t to be made at footwear companies. This is where the issue is complex. A hire when something is being pointed out will be seen as a knee jerk response; but when does hiring become less about networking and more about the work being done and the resume? At what point does hiring get to the point where companies are more representative of the community they are selling too? Or in reverse why would a company like Nike change anything if they are making 35 Billion a year? What they’ve done has always worked so why change it because it lacks color?
This is not an easy issue. Footwear News isn’t a problem. Their posting of this poorly designed Designer’s list is shitty (it’s a blog I can say this). It’s weak and it’s exactly what I expect. What I hope is that companies, brands, retail businesses begin to do what isn’t expected. Imagine if a powerful news outlet like Wall Street Journal, or a powerful media outlet like Complex had written the post I wrote about “Where are the Black Execs in Footwear?” The conversation reaches a larger audience. ARCH is a sneaker blog, a good one, but my reach is limited and this will reach a few people, but until the machine begins to talk about the issues we will get 40 Under 40 lists that reflect the young, white people who are hiring each other and that’s not racist, it just is what it is.
Since the machine won’t bring it up I don’t mind taking a few minutes from sneaker talk to say something. If you have a story you’d like to share on the topic inbox me cburns@arch-usa.com I will keep you anonymous, but I will share it and maybe we can make small steps towards making things a bit better.
