Sneaker Freakettes of the world, it's time to STAND UP! Lori Lobenstine (
Female Sneaker Fiend) along with photographer extraordinaire
Amanda Lopez are about to slam head-on into the publication world, with their new book ‘Girls Got Kicks'. It's all about breaking down stereotypes, and with these two behind the wheel, who knows what will happen. We caught up with the ladies as they trek the globe to capture the true essence of female sneaker collecting. Lads, step aside, sisters are doin' it for themselves!
Why was the website such a necessity back when you launched in 2005?
It was a real bridge between girls and the online sneaker community. Most of the other sites at that time were so male-dominated that many girls got turned off by being disrespected or having to wade through stupid pics of near-naked girls wearing kicks. We needed a site that truly reflected the real female sneaker fiends. Now it’s a home base for a lot of girls who also rep on other sites. They come back to FSF for the community, to buy and sell on the largest marketplace for small sneakers, to learn about getting into the industry and to check out the competition.
Has the battle for smaller sizes and more diversity within the female footwear category been won?
Well, it depends. I think we’ve come a long way in two directions. Firstly, the growth of small brands that are creating diverse product for women like Booji, Keep and Milkshake Kicks and secondly, the growth of the big brands, particularly Nike, finally paying attention to their female customers with nice colabs, more options and finer attention to detail. Female sneaker fiends are looking for the hottest and most exclusive shit just like their male counterparts. I’m not saying that’s the only way to be a fiend, but for those girls, having the exclusives come out in small sizes would be HUGE. It’s a more gender-neutral view of sneakers, and I think it better represents the sneaker fiend community at large. The second direction I want to see growth in is marketing. None of these brands that spend billions on marketing their product actually advertise their women’s sneakers, with the occasional exception of certain performance shoes. Yes, they send info to sneaker sites like FSF and SF so we can spread the word, but when have you ever seen them actually advertise a women’s sneaker? It’s a vicious cycle. The sneakers don’t get advertised, so they don’t sell, so they don’t get funding for development, so they’re not great kicks, so female sneaker fiends don’t buy them, so…
It ends up driving you bananas! Why continue the fight for FSFs worldwide?
It’s fun! As much as I love sneakers, I love the female sneaker fiends just as much. I feel like an insider sociologist. I’m fascinated and moved by this passion we have for our kicks and all the different ways that females express it. And the fact that it’s less expected, that it’s overlooked, that it challenges some stereotypes… that just makes it more intense and more interesting. It’s pretty easy to like kicks if you’re a guy. But if you’re a girl with a sick collection you’re going to face-down some folks who really doubt you. So I love female sneaker fiends for that glint in their eye, that swagger in their step and the extra knowledge they have to have for when guys assume they don’t.
You’re about to capture that essence with your new publication Girls Got Kicks. How important will this be for the movement?
Girls Got Kicks aims to capture the style, passion and variety of female sneaker fiends in a book that collages words and images, the young and old, the famous and ordinary. From girls in small towns who thought they were the only girl out there who loved kicks to girls who spend countless hours on sneaker websites, from fashionistas to tomboys, graff artists to indie rockers, Girls Got Kicks will be a tribute to females who have reshaped footwear in their own image. Our community is as rich and colorful as our collections, and we want folks to see that. In terms of the book’s impact on the movement, that’s a great question. I think anytime a movement can see itself and celebrate itself, it grows and deepens. I think the book will not only help connect us, but help push aside stereotypes about who a female sneaker fiend is. I’m constantly inspired by all the ways that girls represent themselves with their kicks. I hope Girls Got Kicks inspires them as much as they inspire me.
As seen in Issue 16 of Sneaker Freaker