Imagine life without... Trainers

In little more than a century trainers have evolved from a primitive sports shoe to a high fashion statement, a must have item that people change almost as often as they change their underwear! Result – millions of pairs worth billions of pounds sold every year.

So what’s next? Forget flashing lights and roller-shoes: trainer technology is much more sophisticated than that. Nike and Apple have created a device that links shoes to iPod Nanos to give joggers updates on pace, mileage and calories consumed whilst they’re running. Manufacturers invest time and money in new materials – and because it’s good to be green, they’re switching from plastics to more natural products. One firm has a new lining material derived from coconuts!

Who makes them? Popular brands include Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Umbro, New Balance, Converse, K-Swiss, Puma, Lacoste and quite a few more.

Trainers are produced all over the world, especially in Asia where the leading brands own dozens, sometimes hundreds of factories. The exception is New Balance – they have a factory in Cumbria.

But all the brands are highly visible on the High Street and now of course on the internet. Competition is incredibly fierce – not surprising given the size of the market. The UK sports footwear market is worth £1.5 billion a year. That’s chickenfeed in global terms – Americans get through more than 350 million pairs of sports shoes every year, worth around $13 billion.

This could be you: While most trainers are made overseas, there are still openings with general and specialist shoe manufacturers in the UK, including the North West, while work in retail from sales to management can lead to other jobs. Footwear designers for instance need both technical skills and knowledge of the retail market, and must see designs through from concept to production. Or how about designing for the retail trade itself, researching fashion trends and materials and working with manufacturers to get new products into the shops?

So how did we get here? People have been wearing shoes (originally animal skins with grass laces) for anything up to 15,000 years. Even variations of sports shoes have been around for a surprisingly long time – Henry VIII played tennis in something like plimsolls. Then in 1844 Charles Goodyear discovered how to vulcanize rubber i.e. make it flexible. Pretty quickly some genius attached a rubber sole to a canvas upper and bingo! The grand daddy of all trainers was born.

At first it was the rubber companies that made sports shoes but from the 1930s the big boys came along - Adidas, Nike and later Puma. And just like today the market really took off when youngsters started to buy the brands used by sports stars.

By the 1950s trainers were the choice shoe for young people. Hollywood got in on the act with movies featuring actors such as James Dean in sneakers. Rock stars including Elvis Presley and John Lennon were photographed in trainers and Mick Jagger was even married in a pair. Woody Allen wore them to the ballet, Led Zeppelin in a rock documentary, Dustin Hoffman in All the President's Men.

Doing it in style: Today the humble sports shoe is a lifestyle icon, a definition of identity and personality. To keep demand high firms constantly bring out new designs, colour combinations and logos. Many of them are sales gimmicks and have little to do with improving the efficiency of shoes for exercise. Nobody cares!

Which brings us up to date. Shoe companies have perfected their fashion and marketing skills, sports endorsements are all the rage, and marketing budgets have gone through the roof. Designers study young people’s behaviour in selecting shoes. Students are asked their views on new models. Colours, styles, fashions, and what is likely to be hot (or perhaps cool) are important factors in the design of the modern trainer.