Sandy Kaur is the changemaker, designer and podcaster creating a space for womxn in sneakers. Her podcast and blog, HerStoryinSneakers (HSIS), gives womxn a well-needed seat at the table and a platform to discuss and celebrate all things kicks.

Bypassing the hype, Kaur’s passion for sneakers stemmed from her older brother’s vast collection, as well as being drawn to whatever people were wearing on their feet at the time. Coupled with a childhood of playing and watching basketball, Sandy’s passion for sneakers only developed, and she started noticing the lack of female representation in the scene and felt compelled to redress this imbalance.

We caught up with Sandy to further delve into the motivations behind her passion-project, her advice for anyone wanting to get into the scene and discuss the womxn who paved the way for her.

How did you get into Sneakers – has it always been a passion of yours?
Absolutely. Growing up with older siblings I was heavily influenced by the 90’s rap and hip hop culture and as we all know sneakers played a huge role in that! I remember watching music videos and looking straight at their feet to see what they were rocking, and I think that’s how I learned from quite an early age that sneakers could be used as a way of expression through different silhouettes and colourways regardless of gender. 

I also played basketball in my younger years, so I would watch games on tv and fall in love with the sound of the squeak on the court – you all know the one! That’s actually where my love for Jordans began! Although I wasn’t able to buy my own sneakers until I was 17, I lived vicariously through my brothers collection, people on the street and celebs on tv. The irony is that when I started collecting, my brother stopped. 

We love your podcast and blog Herstoryinsneakers – you seem to have tapped into a really interesting but under discussed space in Sneakers. Can you talk to us about how this project came to be?
Being a ‘female sneakerhead’ I’ve always been conscious of the fact that womxn in the scene aren’t held to the same standard as the mxn due to the disparity between the expectations of knowledge each should have, but during lockdown this became much more apparent to me… I would read these hateful and degrading comments online targeted at other females in the scene and I would be confused because I know so many knowledgeable sneakerheads personally that are womxn who could give a lot of the mxn commenting a run for their money when it comes to collections. 

At the same time, there were mxn with a platform who didn’t (in my opinion) use it to represent or defend womxn in the scene and if they did, they were talking about what womxn wanted without actually asking them as well as sexualising them for likes. So one day I thought to myself; instead of being frustrated that no one is showcasing these amazing womxn, why don’t I just give them a platform to talk and be themselves without an ulterior motive. Thus, Herstoryinsneakers (HSIS) was born. 

 Although the focus is on womxn, it’s imperative to me that HSIS doesn’t become a place where mxn are hated. For me it’s more about educating anyone who doesn’t believe womxn deserve a seat at the table through showcasing why they in fact do. I’m extremely proud of the community we currently have over on HSIS which consists of everyone, and I can’t wait to continue to showcase the incredible womxn in the scene.

One of the major projects you’ve been involved in is Nike, guest designing to create the Air Sandy. Talk us through this!
In the midst of the pandemic when there was no hope for anything, Nike By You Workshop had announced their applications were open for London 2020 so, without even thinking it would lead anywhere, I crossed my fingers and applied. A few weeks later I was sat in the passenger seat of a car and received an email saying I had been successful and was selected to be 1 of 20 guest designers to work on an upcoming project.The brief given was to design either an AM95 or AM90 to represent what ‘Unseen London’ means to me – I of course picked the AM95! You can’t get much more London culture than the 110. 

Due to the big P we weren’t able to physically design our shoe in an actual workshop so it was all done online on a Nike ID site except this time the shoe wouldn’t just be coming to you, it would actually be available to purchase… worldwide… for everyone… so I guess you could say there was some pressure. 

 With the brief in mind I designed my shoe to reflect the greenery that surrounds the gloom and doom of London, and used the layering that surrounds the 110 to create an ombre effect using shades of green to symbolise the unlearning and shedding that each individual goes through in this city. I don’t think anyone leaves London being the same version of themselves that initially entered. This is also why the official name for the shoe is ‘Reborn‘ although Air Sandy was the one that stuck haha. 

 This project also arose during the BLM protests which occurred globally due to the tragic loss of George Floyd, and I wanted to pay homage to the progressiveness and resilience of the people of London during that time hence the heel tabs of my shoe reading ‘Revolt’ when put together. Although that was a time where people could’ve easily lost their faith in humanity, the way people came together showed that light will always outshine darkness and we will not be silenced.

 I want everyone that either wears or sees the shoe to remember that we all have a voice, and it can be amplified when we connect as one. So revolt today, revolt tomorrow and continue to revolt for what is right in the face of wrong.

As I touched on earlier, I spent a lot of years living my passion for sneakers out vicariously through others since I didn’t have the financial means to do so myself, so being able to design my own was truly a dream come true especially being a first-generation Indian immigrant. That was a huge thing for my community and I’m proud to be able to say I did that.