The Journal 'The First Pair+ | The Next Pair' Celebrates Women & Sneakers in the Best Way Possible

No matter how hard we try to prove ourselves in this industry, there still remains to be a stigma surrounding women and sneakers. To combat this once and for all, the author of The First Pair+ | The Next Pair, Christyna Pourhabib, has teamed up with Nike to publish this 'double-sided' journal. Split into two halves, one with a chocolate-brown cover and purple writing and the other with the reverse, The First Pair+ looks back and reflects on influential, female sneakerheads, whilst The Next Pair forwards, dedicating a section of the book to those who continue to make waves in this male-dominated industry.

Compiling short stories from a variety of different women, Pourhabib asked them all one short-but-sweet question: 'What was the first pair of sneakers that made you feel fly?'.

The first half of this hardback book opens with interviews from huge female names in the sneaker sphere, such as Melody Ehsani, Vashtie Kola (the first woman to ever collaborate on a Jordan model), Monica Morrow (stylist to some of the biggest names in hip-hop) and so many more. Morrow talks about a time when Air Force 1s were as big as Jordans or Off-Whites are now, saying that "I had one storage unit just full of sneakers and 90% of them were Air Force 1s".

In the other half of the book, the purple cover highlights some of the sneaker industry's biggest up-and-coming names that will continue to shape the community and guide it in a way that makes it a safe space for women. As well as being a lovely collection of each woman's relationship to sneakers and the community, it is editorially stunning as well.

Unfortunately, The First Pair+ | The Next Pair is not for general sale, but was released for free at stores such as Union, Dover Street Market, and A Ma Maniere in the US. However, you can read the book online here.

To find out more about influential women in the sneaker community, we have written spotlight pieces on the likes of Melody Ehsani, Aleali May and Yoon Ahn.