The Balance of Innovation and Aesthetics in Skateboarding Footwear

Uncovering the push and pull between grip, protection, style and tech from the ’80s through 2024.

WRITER: Wes Allen PUBLISHED: October 11, 2024

At the behest of Tony Alva and other California pool skateboarders, Vans added padding around the collar of its CVO silhouette in 1976 to create the Style 95. Now known as the Era, this small technical upgrade prevented loose boards from making direct contact with ankles and became the catalyst for 50 years of innovation in the skate shoe space.

Over the course of these five decades, brands have rolled out proprietary foams, visible air, lace-savers, high-durometer rubber compounds, stash pockets and much more. Despite all these advances, skateboarders have consistently returned to the straightforward vulcanized footwear Vans produced in the ’70s. This push and pull between high-tech innovation and bare-bones simplicity continues to this day with more footwear options than ever before.

Below, the evolution of skate shoes and how technology—and in some cases, a purpose-driven lack thereof—has shaped contemporary skate silhouettes.

Preferring high-top silhouettes for ankle support, skateboarders in the ’80s co-opted basketball sneakers—including the newly released Air Jordan 1—later creating their own takes on the style, like Natas Kaupas' signature shoe for Etnies. Image Credits: Bones Brigade skateboarders by J. Grant Brittain; Mark Gonzales for Etnies; Mark Gonzales for Vision Street Wear

Tim O'Connor hits a kickflip in Philadelphia. As technical tricks and street skating became more prevalent in the ’90s, skaters gravitated toward low-tops. This led to shoes like the iconic Vans Half Cab, created after the brand noticed skaters cutting the top padding off of Steve Caballero’s signature model. Image Credit: Jonathan Mehring for Savier

Updating designs with rugged cupsoles, grippy gum rubber and triple-stitched uppers, brands like DC, éS and Osiris leveraged modern technology to create sneakers that could handle higher-impact sessions. Image Credits: Nike SB team by Hunter Muraira

The incorporation of new technology led to overstuffed tongues and elongated airbags. The thicker silhouettes became symbols of early 2000s culture far removed from the world of skating.

Throughout the 2010s, Nike SB and adidas leveraged proprietary technologies from other sports to create designs that combined on-board needs with off-board aesthetics. Slimmed-down sneakers like the Nike Zoom Janoski and adidas Busenitz showed what the future of skate shoes could look like.

Contemporary skate shoes represent the diverse set of influences that have shaped the scene over the years. Tyshawn Jones' signature adidas models take cues from the Three Stripes' archives, while other silhouettes from brands like ASICS and New Balance leverage the latest innovations in their designs.