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Women have played a fundamental role in sneaker culture and its overarching history. From Carolyn Davidson sketching the original Nike Swoosh logo to tastemakers-turned collaborators like Melody Ehsani and Aleali May, footwear has been fundamentally female.
While the female influence is widespread, its knowledge and documentation are slim.
Nav Gill and Sanne Poeze, both passionate sneakerheads and aficionados with industry ties, looked to right the course with an extensive book documenting the female figureheads who have heavily influenced the industry as it stands today.
She Kicks, the 200+ page book, is segmented into Design, Collab, Making History, Retail, and Future-Proofing chapters filled with imagery & storytelling of the highest artistic caliber, and features an Augmented Reality component, a cornerstone for the book’s publisher, Studio96.
In addition to the AR video component of the book that can be accessed with a phone, Studio96 and She Kicks added exclusive shopping opportunities, user giveaways, links to product pages, NFT releases, membership to a She Kicks community, and more.
As the industry and its history continue to grow, She Kicks serves as a first-of-its-kind book that solidifies the industry and the women who have played a monumental role in its past, present, and future state.
We spoke with She Kicks co-author Nav Gill about the book, its importance for future generations, and more.
Snkrs Day: Was there a moment that led to the creation of the book? What were some of the initial challenges in bringing this project to fruition?
Nav Gill: It was kind of a chance conversation that was the catalyst for this book. Sanne (Poeze) and I were catching up in London and talking about what kind of projects we’d ideally like to be working on in general, and we realized both of us wanted to work on a book in some form that was dedicated to women in sneakers, so we figured why not do it together?
There were loads of challenges. We had the general seed of the idea, but we had to figure out exactly what we wanted to say, and how we wanted to present it. Since there wasn’t really a book that covered women’s sneaker culture specifically before, we had a lot of ground to cover which was a privilege but also a challenge. We had to determine how to distill nearly decades worth of insight, products, and stories in a way that was both meaningful and made sense as one narrative.
Working on producing it over the pandemic was also really tricky; I’m based in London, Sanne is in Amsterdam, and our publisher is based in NYC, so we were never in the same room — we compiled this entire book remotely.
NK: Women hold an important role in sneakers and culture as a whole. How significant is it to have an entire book dedicated to the women in the game?
NG: I can’t underestimate the significance of having a book that solely talks to the female experience of and contribution to sneakers. Women are often overlooked in the industry, in the culture, and as consumers, and so showing the scale of impact that women have had in this space is long overdue.
NK: How does this book and all of the powerful figures involved inspire the next generation of female disruptors — beyond the sneaker industry?
NG: There’s a lot of power in representation and visibility: You can’t be what you can’t see. It doesn’t matter what industry you want to work in, or what you want to do, if you’re able to see someone who maybe looks similar to you, has a similar background, or faced similar challenges and is killing it now, it can go to show you that nothing is out of reach for you either.
NK: How does it feel to finally share this project with the sneaker community & world at large?
NG: It feels incredible. This book has been a work of sheer passion over the past few years, so to be able to share it with the women involved, the sneaker community, and the world is indescribable.
Mostly, I’m so glad that these women who’ve been doing the work to evolve sneaker culture are finally getting their flowers.
NK: What’s the feeling you want readers to have once they flip the final page?
NG: I hope it leaves readers feeling inspired and empowered.
For me, the success of this book really lies in it opening mindsets and doors for women to understand that not only is there plenty of space for them to take up in the sneaker world, but that the sneaker world in fact needs them.
She Kicks is available now at Studio96Publishing.com.
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