Material Matters: How Cleats Hit The Streets

Retired basketball boots and runners of yesteryear tend to dominate today’s casual-sneaker scene, which makes sense, as they’re the styles that transition from the stadium to street with the greatest ease. The influence that field games have on our shoes, however, is often overlooked. Soccer – ‘football’ to most – is the world’s most popular sport, so there’s no doubt it’s had a considerable effect on the sneaker industry. But how exactly did the soccer boot shift from cleat to street? Let’s start at the beginning.