Kickers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kickers | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Key people | Daniel Raufast, Founder |
| Industry | Footwear |
| Products | Shoes, Apparel |
| Website | kickers.co.uk |
Kickers is a youth brand created in 1968 that produces a wide range of footwear and clothing.
[edit] History
In 1968, Daniel Raufast came across a poster advertising the musical Hair. Interested by all the barefooted youngsters wearing jeans, he developed a new shoe concept which he believed to be more compatible with the blue-jean generation. The designer Jacques Chevallereau then created the first 'jean boot'. This new shoe was very different: the use of nubuck; shapes that looked more like short boots than regular shoes; tough crepe soles made with natural rubber, eyelets, contrast stitching, panels and appliqués all obviously referencing denim. The success was such that, within one season, Kickers production capacity grew from 300 to 12,000 pairs per month. By 1974, Kickers were selling in over 70 countries.
[edit] Music industry popularity
The Kick Hi boot was released in 1975. It was the late Eighties and early Nineties that Kickers really gained popularity when Kick His were heralded by icons on the Manchester music scene. The Kick Hi then became popular in the rave scene, first with acid house and then later with trance music. Many fans of the shoe came from diverse and contemporary musical backgrounds including UK garage, RnB, pop and hip-hop.
Over the years, Kickers has been associated with the music industry, including Ms Dynamite, So Solid Crew, Jarvis Cocker, Noel Gallagher, Mike Skinner, Arctic Monkeys, Craig David and Rodney P.
Ian Brown famously kicked off the trend by wearing a pair of Kick His to The Haçienda as a cheeky retort to the strict 'no trainer policy'. The Stone Roses wore them in their video for 'Fools Gold'. A sheep sported a pair of Kick His on the cover of the 'Stepping Stone' 12 single by The Farm.
Kickers are sponsoring the Urban Music Awards (UMA) 2007 and have an advertorial with NME until September 2007.
