Sneakerness is only one year old but in its short life has swiftly become one of Europe’s most significant mobile sneakers festivals. Τhe festival took place in a large (soon to be demolished) exhibition space in Vienna and is now set to tour Zurich, Cologne, Warsaw and Amsterdam.
It was the first festival of its kind ever to appear in the Austrian capital and was met with great enthusiasm, with locals queuing outside long before opening times. The audience was not made up only of sneaker fanatics (who you will either love or hate), but also other people not as closely related to the sneaker culture, and they could not have been given a better introduction.
This year saw a special guest appearance by the legendary Bobbito Garcia straight from New York’s open air basketball courts that showcased his latest signature model for Pro-Keds as well as his celebrated DJ skills. Nike Air Max 1 featured with their own booth in which anyone could be photographed by street-style photographer Ben Ross. The Nike id stand offered visitors the chance to design their own sneakers on the spot.
Puma were also present with a range of classic sneakers and a cool event about the unique tying of shoelaces. Element were showcasing a skateboarding demo, whilst Adidas, Lakai, Supra, DC, Alife, Reebok, Onitsuka Tiger, Pointer and DVS were all also present along with Austria’s most famous sneaker shops. Street artists from central Europe got the chance to express themselves on canvas and on custom shoes, while the display of personal collections drew a lot of attention (these are always the strongest point of festivals of this type).
