“Shrink it and pink it!” This phrase is used over and over again when designing and marketing products for women. There is one market in particular that perpetuates this motto, design after design: the sneaker industry.
With the rise in popularity of new sneakers designed specifically for women, most times by women, I started to wonder, aren’t women’s sneakers already designed for women?
The short answer: no.
Almost every sneaker brand you can think of designs sneakers specifically for a man’s foot, and then oftentimes designers literally reduce the size of the sneaker and change the color in an attempt to appeal to women. Because of this, so many women’s sneaker designs are based on men’s feet, not women’s.
And as the sneaker industry is a male-dominated field, it’s taken some time to change this.
The “shrink it and pink it” trend of sneaker design continues on despite studies showing female feet are anatomically different from mens, not only in size, but also in shape, which puts women at a much higher risk for injury due to improper footwear.
In fact, according to women-owned sneaker brand OESH, female athletes are at two times the risk of developing foot or knee injuries due to improper footwear simply because of the design.
Female athletes and female designers continue to stand up against the gender gap within the sneaker industry, one shoe at a time.
As the popularity in women’s sneakers grows, brands founded by women for women, such as Moolah Kicks, RykaTech, and OESH, emerged to create new sneakers designed for women’s feet. The founders and designers of these companies are paying close attention to the anatomical differences between mens’ and womens’ feet in an attempt to create sneakers that not only are stylish, but also are anatomically correct for a woman’s foot, according to their websites.
The attention each brand focuses on to pursue better understanding of the female body not only creates healthier footwear for women, but also is an attempt to push back against the gender gap perpetuated in sneaker culture and design.
As these sneaker brands join the market for women’s shoes, already existing brands have started to create new women focused designs as well. Brands such as Lululemon and Under Armour each released a women’s sneaker finally designed for a woman’s foot!
So, as the market of women’s sneakers grows at a rapid pace and the attention to women-focused design (beyond the color pink) is gaining traction, designers are beginning to combat the gender gap within sneaker culture and to address the lack of consideration of women in the sneaker world.
And although pink is appealing — it’s notable that the sneaker industry is finally addressing the creation and design of women’s shoes beyond an advertising appeal.
