Great Taste in Shoes: An Incomplete History of Sneaker Food Collaborations

According to the old saying, “the clothes maketh the man.” There’s no denying that a sharp ‘fit can make you feel like a million bucks, and getting a fresh fade can make the confidence skyrocket. But what about kicks that make your stomach rumble?

Food and footwear may seem like an unlikely pairing, but that creative combo has produced some of the slickest shoe collabs in recent memory. Below are some of our favorites. Call it Sustenance x Sneakers.

This partnership between Ruffles chips and Lakers superstar Anthony Davis saw the incredibly talented customizer The Shoe Surgeon craft a limited run of hand-made kicks based on the Dunk High silhouette.

Mmm. Crunchy.

Last fall, Philly boutique UBIQ raffled off a one-of-one pair of Miller High Life-themed Jordan Retro 1s to benefit a local chapter of the Boys and Girls Club. Great pours for a great cause. This correspondent bought a bunch of entries but came up short.

The Dunk silhouette has long been a canvas for funky and off-the-wall designs, and anyone who knows sneakers knows how highly sought-after these beer-themed bad boys are. If you don’t: the cheapest pair available on resale platform StockX is going for a cool $3,000 in size 11 at press time.

Speaking of refreshing beverages, summer ’19 also saw America’s favorite iced tea brand link up with the Brand With The Three Stripes for this sweet little pack that included Continental Vulc models and Adilette slides that were just perfect for rocking poolside.

What else would one wear to brunch than a sneaker tribute to the best brunch food (don’t @ me)? Nike served these finger-lickin’ kicks up in April 2016 and they’re the definition of drip: no, really, the Swoosh has an oozy maple syrup design.

You know the slogan. “America runs on Dunkin’.” This collab is pretty self-explanatory.

Disregarding what nutritionists say, one can never have too many donuts. They’re a favorite sweet treat for Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who paid homage to the humble fried dough ring on one of his second-generation signature shoes. No holes in his game though.

Foodie collabs ain’t all high-performance or high-fashion though. Peep these upcoming Colonel Sanders sandals from the folks at Crocs, complete with Jibbitz that reportedly SMELL LIKE FRIED CHICKEN. I’m listening…

Let’s finish off with some dessert, specifically, the beignet. Cafe du Monde is a New Orleans icon, which makes it the perfect pairing for Louisiana-based Sneaker Politics. These are so hot, and disappeared so fast, you’d think they came fresh out of the fryer.