Making Waves: The ‘pre-aged’ look
The aging of sneakers is something that older sneakerheads, or those with an interest on vintage sneakers will be all to aware of. It is a fact of life that, no matter how hard you try to keep your kicks pristine, the way they look will change over time. One of the most recognisable aspects of sneaker aging has always been the yellowing of the midsoles and outsoles. This is a process that is largely unavoidable, particularly on sneakers with white or icy outsoles and midsoles. In the heat, sun and everyday air, yellowing occurs as the sneaker oxidises. A quick google search reveals all manner of products, from creams to iceboxes to reverse this process. It’s a natural process but one that the sneaker community has told us is undesirable for years.
But now, flying in the face of conventional sneaker wisdom, a new trend has emerged. Spear-headed by big name collaborators on our favourite brands including Aimé Leon Dore, A Ma Maniére and Union, some of the most limited shoes are now sporting a ‘pre-aged’ look. Shunned for so long, sought-after sneakers are now being praised for their artificially yellowed elements Today our Making Waves segment we give our opinions on whether the ‘pre-aged’ trend is good for the culture or not.
The Good
Pre-aged as a homage to shoes with history:
At their best, pre-aged sneakers exist as a love-letter to older sneakers. Pre-aging a midsole or another part of the shoe can be used to highlight that a certain silhouette has history and cultural relevance behind it. Take for example, the recently released A Ma Maniére ‘raised by women’ Jordan 3. Here, artificially yellowing the midsole and back tab has a poignant purpose.
Not only does the yellowing reflected how a shoe first released in 1988 might look today, but this particular sneaker also tells a more personal story. The raised by women Air Jordan 3 tells the tale of A Ma Maniére’s founder James Whitner (along with countless other children in the late 1980s) who’s mother made the 3 his first Jordan. When done correctly, artificial aging on sneakers provides a visual storytelling language, conveying a silhouette’s history instantly. When worn on feet, these sneakers can convey history from a single glance. Moreover, this history can be displayed to anyone, not just hardcore sneakerheads who have read every media piece behind. Artificial aging, in our opinion, allows collaborators to pay their respects to a shoe’s original designer. Take for example the Aimé Leon Dore 550. The 550 is a shoe that has been pushed into the stratosphere because of ALD’s collaboration with New Balance on the model (which we reviewed here). Indeed, the shoe seemed to come so out of the wilderness that many could be excused for thinking that it was a new silhouette. However, those clued up on the collaboration know that ALD simply revived the 550, a model that initially released as a performance basketball shoe in 1989. To us the yellowing on the ALD version is a nod to the history of the model and an effort to pay respect to the shoe’s origins and designers. As these two shoes have shown, pre-aging a new trainer can enrich the sneaker community when it is done for the right reasons.
Casting off the stigma of imperfect sneakers:
There is another biproduct of the current ‘artificial aging’ trend that has had a positive impact on the sneaker community. Just as body-positivity promotes acceptance of all body types, the newfound desire for the aged look has ushered in a wave of sneaker acceptance. As highlighted in our introduction, there are plenty of products to fix any yellowing that has made your kicks look imperfect. However, the use of artificial aging by creatives has shown that symptoms of aging such as yellowing can still be cool! Sneakers are meant to be worn and yellowing is simply part of the purpose. The acceptance and even appetite for sneakers with an aged look not only means that sneakerheads will be less afraid to wear their new kicks but it also seems to have led to more people pulling out older shoes from their collection online. It is because of this that we are now being treated more and more to sneakers we rarely see, such as original 1985 Jordan 1s with beautifully aged midsoles and cracked leather. Beyond this we now see brilliantly inventive customizers treating new sneakers to the artificially aged look, elevating the brand’s initial vision to something else entirely. This is something we may not have seen without the trailblazers from the collaborations that started the aged trend.
The Bad
The gentrification of the aged look:
As we’ve written above, KickWave believes that when done with a purpose, artificial aging can elevate a sneaker. It can convey history and meaning at little more than a glance. However, whenever something in the industry gets popular it will be used by those who do not appreciate the place of authenticity and meaning that it comes from. Instead, some will simply pre-age a sneaker because it is currently a popular look. Whilst we won’t call out anyone in particular, high fashion brands are especially prone to appropriate trends without providing any of the meaning that made it popular in the first place. One only has to search for aged or distressed sneakers online to find examples of those that are gentrifying this trend, offering up pre-aged sneakers at high price points that are completely devoid of the history and storytelling that makes this current sneaker moment so great.
KickWave’s final take:
The artificial aging of sneakers may feel strange and somewhat disingenuous at first. This is particularly true if you are the sort of person obsessed with keeping your trainers looking perfect. But once you get accustomed to it, the pre-aging of sneakers can be a beautiful visual language that offers a window into the history and stories behind your favourite shoes.