Pam Pam Profiles | Women in Sneakers

For Steph, founder of @womeninsneakers, sneakers have always been about more than what's on your feet. From spotlighting the women behind the industry to building a community that puts culture first. We caught up to talk favourite pairs, fashion, and what's still missing.

For anyone who might not know you yet, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got into sneakers?

I’m Steph! Founder of WIS, I co-Run a social creative agency Gang Gang and I’m a freelance stylist, project manager, producer and what I like to call a non traditional creative! To throw it way back my love for sneakers came from the only sneaker store where i grew up in oxford called Ryouki. It was the only independent store of its kind when i was growing up it was super curated and my dad used to take me in most weekends downstairs was the womens section which was small but had some really fun unique pieces I always wanted but never came in my size. 

What made you want to start documenting and spotlighting women in the sneaker community in the first place?

I worked in the sneaker industry for a number of years, I started my career journey at ASOS in a project management and production role which then evolved to a brand partnerships role. Which meant that I got to see and experience lots of different sides of the industry and understand how it worked. I workes across a lot of launches that required story telling and creative so alongside an amazing team we got to tell stories about sneaker culture through a fun fashion lens. After ASOS i headed to swiss brand ON and helped launch  their lifestyle product as a traditionally performance brand it was a great experience to help develop and roll out campaigns and strategies with a brand that at the time were unknown. During my time in these roles I had the pleasure of meeting and working with some amazing women from all walks of life and different touch points within the industry. Thats what sparked my desire to tell their stories I found that ‘ traditional marketin strategies’ relied heavily on Influencer culture whereas i wanted to highlight the people behind the shoe, product and brand. 

Favourite sneaker silhouette of all time?

Ahh this is such a tricky one as I have so many pairs I like for different reasons. But for their history its has to be the Reebok DMX and the Airmax 95.  I really love the DMX  silhouette as its actually designed by the same person that designed the airmax 95 which for my is such a fun origin story its great to see the design cads of both and see how the shapes evolved over time an incorporated each brands signature identity through colourways materials and innovation. 

Did you feel there was a lack of representation for women in sneaker culture when you first started Women in Sneakers and do you think that’s changing now?

There was definitely a lack of representation at the time i started WIS, I think whats happened now is the industry has diversified so what was once nerdy and niche has become more pop culture, its more accessible for a female consumer thats for sure. That being said I feel there is more work to be done internally for businesses. For example i would say sneaker culture is derived and leans heavily on black culture however those in leadership roles and key decision makers are unfortunately stile male pale and stale. From a truly cultural perspective I would say there has been a shift in representation of women however that can still be diversified further in my opinion I want to see different age demographic, races, body shapes, beliefs etc I think to an extent brands are still being lazy when it comes to campaigns and who they work with at times but again I think that also comes down to who the key decision makers are and who is ideating and creating campaigns. 

If you had to wear one look on repeat for the next six months, what would it be?

Now this is a TRICKY one I would say right now my go to look for comfort and cool is a balloon pant or oversized cargo with a pair of nike rifts. I think cargos balloon pants/ jeans  give an opportunity to play with silhouettes and shapes so you can create something chic or more relaxed. 

Do you think the relationship between fashion, and sneaker culture feels different now compared to a few years ago?

The relationship between fashion and sneaker culture has for sure changed and grown significantly over the past few years. I think when Luxury collabs for example first started to occur it was a great way to remove the barrier to entry for luxury products it made products and brands more accessible. Alongside this it allowed fashion to tap into what I like to call the business of hype, whereby a luxe brand can generate hype and demand in the same way as a sneaker drop would. For me the positives from this would be it allows both brands to experiment and create unique pieces and products that their ‘brand identity’ wouldn’t usually allow for. Like I love the idea of Saloman and maison margiella getting together to create a hiking shoe tabi for me thats an example of a collab we didn;t know we needed. Fun and unexpected which is what fashion and streetwear culture should be. 

What pairs have been in heavy rotation for you lately?

My current rotation has been Nike shox, Air max 95s, Rifts and my Salomon Naked CPH collab. 

Nike Shox and 95’s give me a little height as i’m quite petite so for tracksuits and oversized jeans I usually wear these a lot. My rifts and Salomons are i would say a more chic option for skirts and jorts as I like the juxtaposition of the sleek shapes with volume. 

Looking ahead, what’s next for Women in Sneakers, and what would you love to see more of within women’s sneaker culture?

What's next for women in sneakers is I want to focus on growing the community and creating stuff that matters. I self fund a lot of projects I do such as the black history month campaign I ran this allows me to have  creative freedom but equally I want to work with more brands in the right way, consulting creating and collaborating with real women. I have so many ideas I want to bring to life! I also want to start building the styling work I do for brands into the page creating more inspo, styling content etc.