I have never been much of a collector. In my apartment, you might find some vintage glassware I've accumulated over the years and more than a few houseplants, but I'm not exactly a certified hobbyist. I'll admit, beyond collecting free or cheap location-oriented items like postcards and matchbooks, it has been difficult for me to picture spending time and inordinate amounts of money on decks of cards that will never be played with or vinyl records that won't be listened to.
Enter the sneakerheads. With shoes costing anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars, at least these collectors often wear their stock. Still, most hold on to some pristine, vacuum-sealed models that decorate their homes like artwork. And that's likely all they will ever be—turns out, most sneakers are made with polyurethane, a compound that degrades so easily that even shrinkwrap can't save it. Rene Chun details this dilemma in a Gear feature from 2015, The Sneakerheads Racing to Save Their Kicks From Decay. Chun recounts such tragedies as the soles of Air Max 95s crumbling after one step outside or the uppers of an obscure Adidas runner peeling away after a collector simply picked them up.
It's not a problem that will be fixed quickly. Sneaker-makers are focused on increasing performance for people who intend to wear a pair of shoes for a year or two, not shelve them for decades, explains Chun. So rather than developing degradation-resistant polyurethane, researchers think about energy absorption and return, although Adidas has a new technology that claims to do both. Collectors charge forward, unbothered by the expiration dates on their prizes. As one sneakerhead reminds us, "All art is impermanent." This week I want to hear about your collections, however impermanent they may be. Why those items? What makes them artwork to you? And what challenges do you face in preserving them? Tell me why I should also collect your favorite thing by writing to me at samantha_spengler@wired.com, or by posting a comment below the article.
'Til next week!
Sam
Posts
حبيبي ليس يعدله حبيب *** ولا لسواه في قلبي نصيب حبيب غاب عن بصري وسمعي *** ولكن في فؤادي ما يغيب يا حبيب ...
No comments:
Post a Comment
🤔