If you take a trip to your local sneaker store, there’s a good chance you’ll find a shoe with a bit of neoprene on it. The stretchy material has become ubiquitous in a world where sock-like foot huggers are the default for the style conscious. While the introduction of neoprene changed up the sneaker game for good, the laminated rubber foam had a long and eventful life before it landed the hands of footwear designers like Tinker Hatfield.
