The origins of the British sportswear brand Reebok date back to the 1890s, when the company J.W. Foster was started by Joseph William Foster in Bolton, a town in the United Kingdom. Shortly after, his sons joined the company and the company name was changed to J.W. Foster & Sons.
The company was one of the first to use a leather upper and spikes in their track running shoes for grip. Two decades later, runner Harold Abrahams won Gold at 100m at the Paris Olympics wearing Foster Running Pumps. Afterwards, the shoes became very popular in the United Kingdom. In 1958, the sons; Joe and Jeff Foster, formed the company Reebok, an extension of their dad’s brand.
The name Reebok was named after on a type of antelope. Short after changing its name, Reebok went international and sold their shoes in more than 28 countries worldwide. The brand starts to add clothing and sport accessories to their collection.
Through the years, Reebok began signing iconic collaborations, such as a ten year contract with the NFL and CrossFit and a collab with Jay Z and releasing their S Carter collection. The brand also partnered with Keith Haring to pay tribute and came out with the Classic Leather x Keith Haring sneaker.
In 2014, rapper Kendrick Lamar signed as a brand ambassador for Reebok and two years later model Gigi Hadid and singer Ariana Grande signed with Reebok as well. .
One of Reebok most famous models is the Reebok Club C - short for Champion. The iconic sneaker came out in 1985 and is mostly made of leather. The overall look of the shoe is vintage athletics. Similar to the are the Classic Leather Shoes, with a clean and minimalist design, accompanied with a gum sole.
More on the futuristic side, are the Reebok DMX Trail and the Reebok Premier Road, both with a prominent sole and layered materials. These models are more focused on outdoor and extreme weather conditions. Feeling more like wearing slide ons? The Reebok Beatnik come in handy. These quilted, fashionable shoes come in many colors and shapes.
As for materials, Reebok mostly uses an off-white vintage-style leather for the retro models. The futuristic models are usually made with a mix of sturdy leather and breathable mesh. These past few years, Reebok has been developing a more sustainable process and intends to use more ethically sourced materials in the future.