Before Cushioned Shoes: The 1970s Style That Changed Footwear Forever

💬 Shoes got a massive makeover 50 years ago, thanks to a boom in interest for running. A style that first emerged in the 1970s quickly became the dominant one - cushioned soles, elevated heels, narrow toes. And it’s the style we still see today. But why? 

⚡ Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years barefoot - and when we did make shoes, they were made of plant fibres or thin animal hides. We’ve cycled through many variations over the years, but today’s shoes are very different - maximising comfort and protection.

Steven Sashen is the founder of barefoot shoe brand Xero. He explains how today’s shoe style was first adopted, how marketing made it spread - and why one the original designers described it as the biggest mistake he made in his career.

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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ How Nike’s first waffle shoe started the shift

➡ Why the science driving the change was problematic

➡ The strange Medieval trend of wearing mega pointy “poulaines”

➡ Why barefoot runners today don’t experience life like our ancestors

➡ How barefoot shoes emerged and what they’re doing differently

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast exploring the history of everyday life, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou 

Email: hello@ogpodcasts.co.uk

Image Credits:

(Fort Rock sandals) Ian Poellet, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons