This month, we celebrate the individuals who have challenged the status quo and paved their own lane of greatness within the creative industry.
Our three- part ‘BLACKPRINT’ series is an ode to those individuals who have inspired, motivated, and uplifted the community in many more ways than one. Whether it's spitting eclectic rhythms on a rap beat, being the upper echelon of fashion trends, or becoming the kingpin of the courts, every moment matters, and we want to make a Blackprint of it.
Kicking off this series, we revisit 5 moments when Black culture has changed the course of sneaker history.
1. Clyde Waltz His Way Into His First Ever NBA Endorsement
If ‘90s basketball was the golden era, the decades preceding it laid the groundwork for what was to come. And in the signature sneaker race, Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier had first dibs.
Dubbed ‘Daddy Cool’ due to his collected demeanour on the court, Walt Clyde Frazier was one-of-a-kind on those hardwoods. From leading the New York Knicks to their first-ever championship title to earning seven consecutive All-Star selections, it wasn’t just his finesse that led to worldwide stardom, but what he wore on his feet.
By 1973, Puma approached Clyde with the first-ever NBA endorsement deal in history: $5,000 and free shoes, and he would wear the Leather Puma Basket. However, before signing on the dotted line, the defensive guard believed the shoe was too heavy to wear on the court and insisted on having his own signature shoe that was lightweight, made of suede, and featured an embossed ‘Clyde’ logo with different color variations for every court appearance.
The Clyde soon escaped the hardwood altogether. From New York's burgeoning hip-hop and B-Boy scenes to skate culture, the silhouette became bigger than the athlete whose name was stamped across it.
2. Black Storytelling Takes Sneaker Culture On-Screen
Before sneaker rotations were documented through Instagram dumps and TikTok fit checks, film and television were doing the heavy lifting. And throughout the late ‘80s and ‘90s, Black storytelling helped take sneaker culture from the streets to screens across the world.
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing delivered one of sneaker cinema’s most unforgettable moments in 1989. Buggin’ Out’s pristine White/Cement Air Jordan 4s become the centre of attention after a passer-by scuffs them with his bicycle, prompting an exchange that sneakerheads still reference decades later. It was funny, painfully relatable and, most importantly, authentic to the importance placed on keeping a fresh pair fresh.
But the influence didn’t stop at the cinema.
When The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered in 1990, Will Smith brought the sneaker rotation into millions of living rooms. His Metallic Air Jordan 5s appeared in the show’s opening sequence, while the Grape colourway became so closely connected to Smith that Jordan Brand eventually revisited the relationship through Fresh Prince-inspired releases.
Across six seasons, Jordans, Nike Basketball silhouettes, adidas Superstars, and countless other pairs became part of Will’s character rather than glorified product placement.
Long before the word 'influencer' entered our vocabulary, Black television and cinema were already showing audiences how sneakers could become part of your identity.
3. Sheryl Swoopes Breaks Gender Boundaries With the Air Swoopes
Michael Jordan wasn't the only basketball player making signature sneaker history in the ‘90s.
Enter Sheryl Swoopes.
After dropping a record-setting 47 points in the 1993 NCAA championship game and leading Texas Tech to the title, Swoopes quickly established herself as one of basketball’s brightest talents.
Nike took notice.
In 1995, the Nike Air Swoopes arrived, making Swoopes the first female basketball player to receive her own signature sneaker.
And this wasn't simply a men's basketball shoe repackaged for women.
Swoopes was involved in its creation alongside Nike designer Marni Gerber, with the sneaker built around the demands of her game. The original design featured distinctive ankle support, a midfoot strap, and Swoopes branding that ensured there was no mistaking whose signature was attached to it.
The significance stretched far beyond one silhouette.
A year later, Swoopes became the first player to sign with the newly formed WNBA before becoming one of the league's defining stars. Her signature line would eventually span multiple Air Swoopes models, helping create a blueprint for the generations of female athletes who followed.
Today, women's basketball signature sneakers are entering another golden era. But before the latest generation could put their names on the box, Sheryl Swoopes had already kicked the door open.
4. Kanye West Takes the Reins For Sneaker Fashion
The 21st century can be seen as a generation of opportunity, with a new wave of Black designers and creatives taking greater control over what sneaker culture could look like.
Ye West was a prime example.
His transition from music into footwear reached another level through Nike, resulting in the Air Yeezy in 2009 and eventually the infamous all-red Air Yeezy 2 “Red October” in 2014.
But his next move would reshape the sneaker landscape altogether.
In 2015, Ye joined forces with adidas and introduced YEEZY Season 1 alongside the YEEZY BOOST 750. The low-cut YEEZY BOOST 350 followed and quickly became one of the defining sneaker silhouettes of the decade.
Minimalist Primeknit uppers, BOOST cushioning and neutral colour palettes gave YEEZY an instantly recognisable design language. But its influence stretched far beyond aesthetics.
YEEZY helped blur the increasingly thin boundary between sportswear, streetwear and luxury fashion. Sneakers could sit alongside high-fashion collections, dominate social media, command huge resale premiums and still become everyday uniform.
Perhaps most importantly, the partnership demonstrated just how powerful a non-athlete creative could become within the footwear industry. adidas itself described the expanded partnership in 2016 as its most significant collaboration with a non-athlete at the time.
Whatever came afterwards, the cultural footprint of the adidas YEEZY era is difficult to separate from the sneaker landscape of the 2010s. The blueprint for the celebrity creative partnership had been redrawn.
5. Run-D.M.C. Take Three Stripes From the Streets to the World
Before rappers had sneaker collaborations dropping every other week, Run-D.M.C. were putting three stripes on the global stage.
By the mid-1980s, Joseph 'Run' Simmons, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels and Jason 'Jam Master Jay' Mizell had developed a style that reflected the streets of New York rather than the extravagant wardrobes associated with some of hip-hop's earlier performers.
Tracksuits. Gold chains. Kangol hats. And, most importantly, adidas Superstars worn laceless with the tongue pushed out.
Their love for the shell-toe wasn't manufactured in a marketing meeting either. It was authentic to the style already being worn within their community. So, naturally, they put it on wax.
In 1986, Run-D.M.C. released 'My Adidas', turning their favourite sneakers into the subject of one of hip-hop's most influential fashion statements.
But the real game-changing moment happened on stage.
During a performance at Madison Square Garden, Run asked the crowd to hold their adidas sneakers in the air. Thousands reportedly followed suit, demonstrating something sneaker brands were only beginning to understand: musicians could influence what people wore just as powerfully as athletes.
adidas took notice, and a partnership with Run-D.M.C. followed.
The significance went far beyond one group and one sneaker. Run-D.M.C. helped demonstrate the commercial power of hip-hop at a time when the genre was still fighting for recognition from mainstream America.
The Superstar subsequently travelled from the hardwood to hip-hop and eventually became a global streetwear staple, with adidas continuing to recognise Run-D.M.C.'s role in that transformation decades later.
Today, seeing rappers and musicians with sneaker deals feels completely normal.
Run-D.M.C. helped write the BLACKPRINT.
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