For Better or Worse: How TikTok Changed the Sneaker Scene

Social media consumption has risen by a significant amount since the outset of COVID-19 and this is not surprising at all. Why? Lockdowns have meant the closure of all public spaces, facilities, and work-from-home systems are put in place. The result? Plenty of time on everyone's hands.

As technology continues to modernise every aspect of our day-to-day lives, we also proceed to engage in social media-related activities to keep us entertained and in the loop. And speaking of social media, home-friendly application TikTok has taken over the world by storm with over 1 billion monthly active users publishing all genres of content.

If you still haven't fallen to TikTok's deadly trap, then props to you because it's highly addicting and let me tell you why. Ever heard of the word "infinite scrolling"? This video-sharing platform is exactly the perfect example of that! Its scary algorithm system applies to your main page where you're served an infinite number of videos catering to your interest. And the more you interact with users via following accounts, commenting, liking, and sharing videos, the more your FYP becomes personalised.

TikTok became a new home for social media influencers, moving away from already-famous media apps such as Instagram and Youtube. Its simple recording and editing setup invited more individuals to expand their creativity, thus becoming internet icons themselves. All you need is a strong fashion-forward look, some confidence, and great knowledge to produce content that will gain you new followers who have repeatedly told themselves said they'll get out of bed in a second, yet more than an hour has already gone past.

So how are TikTok and sneakers connected? Sneakers have become more challenging to obtain as of late, and there's no questioning that any sneakerhead would not disagree with that. It's not as easy as rocking up to your local retailer back in the day and picking up a pair of Air Jordan 1 OG "Chicago". To find out what's really going on in the sneakerverse, I sat down with three famous fashion influencers to discuss how this video-sharing platform is affecting a multi-billion-dollar industry.

I’m Daniel Darko (@danieldarko_) and I'm a content creator currently based in London! My passion for creating streetwear and sneaker content on social sites started when I came across @vivianfrank and @blvckmvnivc's Instagram accounts. I was inspired by them to transfer my interest in fashion onto TikTok and create styling videos to encourage others to do the same. I'd usually spend 3 days a week filming numerous videos, and roughly 2-3 hours editing them all together depending on what the theme is.

I started collecting in 2014, mainly classic pairs of Air Jordans like the Air Jordan 4 "Bred" colourway, Air Jordan 6 "Infrared", and many others. As time went on, I began to educate myself more on sneaker culture and the latest releases through The Sole Supplier as well as other creators on social media. My collection consists of around 25 pairs right now, with the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 High being the all-time grail that I luckily won through Offspring.

The more limited a pair of sneaks are, the higher the level of hype around it, naturally capturing a lot of public attention on social media platforms like TikTok, including people who are not sneakerheads. Not only that, but people have now also realised that there’s money to be made in the aftermarket. I believe it all began when Kanye introduced the Nike Air Yeezys which holds an insane amount of value now, and most especially after he left Nike and teamed up with adidas in 2015 for the Yeezy Boost collection that made people realise they can flip trainers for profit.

TikTok definitely played a massive role in this, especially during the lockdown period. I feel like a lot of fashion enthusiasts, including myself, have influenced a lot of people to take an interest in sneakers. However, people who aren't so clued up on how to secure hyped pairs for retail price automatically assume that paying resell is the only forward, therefore they opt for replicas as it's a cheaper alternative, which numerous TikTok accounts have been promoting recently, unfortunately. I have always been against dupes as I feel like it ruins the sneaker culture but on the good side, it has contributed to making more people go out their way and learn more about the culture.

I'm not all in for reselling, but I must agree that it helps people fund shoes they actually want to wear by selling their unwanted pairs for profit. So with that said, I believe that TikTok has changed the scene for the better as it would get boring if the community doesn't expand. No industry is made to stay stagnant, everything needs to grow, and the sneaker industry will continue to do so.

I go by the name of Lucy, @lucylooxi on Instagram, and I'm based in Sweden. I've been creating content since 2017, and it's one of my hobbies! It all began when I discovered the fashion side of Instagram, and it motivated me to show off my style and taste in sneakers. I mainly post my stuff on there and have been using their reel function more often, which doesn't take me so long to do as long as I have a solid idea of what I want to create.

When it comes to buying shoes, I look for pairs that look cool and cute at the same time, something that has multiple colours that I can match with my outfits. If I see a sneaker that fits my criteria and is a bit different from what you'd see daily, I gotta have it. One of my craziest purchases were the Grateful Dead x Nike SB Dunk Low "Green", I drove hours to buy them off a reseller. I also love the PEACEMINUSONE x Nike Air Force 1 Para-Noise in the white colourway as it comes with a peelable layer that reveals G-Dragon's abstract art painting, and I'm a huge fan of his music too!

In my opinion, social media has impacted the sneaker game massively. People are now more informed about exclusive releases and certain styles because of easy-to-use media platforms such as Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram. The resale value of some sneakers is determined by their popularity, which kinda makes me give up on signing up to raffles sometimes as I know I'll just take an L and be left with no choice but to pay more than the original price tag.

Absolutely! I feel that youngsters now have more access to social media apps, and have been strongly influenced by what they see from influencers. I guess they don't want to feel left out when everyone else has a certain shoe and they don't. I'm not very active on TikTok as I like to keep my content in one place, so I use Instagram reels, which serves the same function as TikTok to be quite honest!

It's a bit of both. It made it extremely difficult to cop shoes for retail and the replica situation is really starting to grow out of hand. I would love to see more kicks in women's sizes because sometimes there are only men's sizing which can be very disappointing for us females with small feet who want the exact model or colourway but our sizes aren't available. The system really needs to change. On the bright side, this only means that interest in sneakers will continue to grow because there are more people interested in it now and driving it forward in different ways, and I enjoy seeing how creative people can be when it comes to making content.

Yo, thank you for having me here! I'm Aly, @yungalyy on I-G, and I'm based in London right now! I originally started in 2018, but I never took it too seriously until this year when my TikTok video "What I Would Wear Front Row at Designer Fashion Shows" blew up. Funnily enough, I didn't have any designer clothes so I decided to put a twist on it and use streetwear clothing instead. My account received a lot of attention from that video, and users started to request a sequel. From there, I focused on creating content that doesn't follow general TikTok fashion trends. I recreate outfits from movies, games, rappers, and all sorts!

Well, my first ever hyped sneaker was the adidas Yeezy Boost 350 from 2015, and I was a hypebeast back then. But that slowly changed when I found my own style which I show off quite well through my social media channels. My favourite trainers right now are the DC x Reebok Workout Plus "Wonder Woman" in the blue colourway as it's very unique compared to any other sneaker I've seen. It was released just a few days after my birthday so I treated myself to it and will always remember that moment! Right now, I work at Crep Protect, so I kind of have to keep up with the latest releases, though I'm much more into less hyped sneakers.

Humans control the market. That's what makes it difficult, you of course have so many influencers out there and celebrities, mainly rappers, that also control the market. You just need to make sure you don't get too sucked up into the hypebeast culture as there are so many unique and cool sneakers out there that aren't surrounded by hype. Again, now due to technology changes, people have access to information all the time as well as social media. The younger generation is easily influenced and that's also a major factor. Resellers too, make it so difficult to obtain sneakers, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. If you're smart enough to profit from something then fair play.

Yeah, I'd say so! Not just TikTok but also Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube plus more. TikTok is one of those channels that can give anyone a platform, especially if your content is helpful! There are so many sneaker channels on TikTok that provide useful information on the latest drops and upload cool videos like The Sole Supplier - Crep Check series.

Nope, I think it changed for the better! I like that people are more sneaker-conscious now, though maybe I'm biased because that's what my content and full-time job revolve around on. Sneakers are a staple piece of item that cements your outfit together, so technically it's part of your daily life and this means that it's also an easy ice breaker when talking to someone like-minded. Some would say that TikTok has created a negative impact on sneaker culture because of certain channels promoting fakes, but I see this more as a wake-up call for major footwear labels to stop making trainers extremely limited and collaborate more with smaller brands or designers to create something new. Sneaker brands should use this opportunity to their advantage, so I look forward to the day that changes!

All in all, it seems that TikTok has shown both positive and negative results. As Darko mentioned, "no industry is made to stay stagnant, everything needs to grow." The sneaker industry is a fast-growing market, and it's certainly only going to get bigger from here. Of course, if you've been present in the sneaker community for quite some time now, then we believe that you as a sneakerhead should be no stranger to changes. When negative situations arise, the only natural thing we'll do is to find a solution and in some cases, new ideas are born.

One of the most important things TikTok has brought to us is the gain of knowledge. Alongside our endless thirst for sneakers and anything tied to them, there are also channels providing beneficial content related to daily life such as 1-minute cooking lessons, DIY series, and far more!

Now that you've read all this, I have no doubts that we've got you more interested in the sneaker universe, and here at The Sole Supplier, we'd be more than happy for you to join us on all the fun! We provide all the latest sneaker releases covering all footwear brands such as Nike, adidas, New Balance, Yeezy, and many others.