A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but over time, shoes also became fashion items. Some shoes are worn as safety equipment, such as steel-toe boots, which are required footwear at industrial worksites.
Sneakers (US) or trainers (UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but which are also widely used for everyday casual wear.
Zori, also rendered as zōri, are thonged Japanese sandals made of rice straw, cloth, lacquered wood, leather, rubber, or—most commonly and informally—synthetic materials. They are a slip-on descendant of the tied-on waraji sandal.
Waraji are light tie-on sandals, made from ropemaking fibers, that were the standard footwear of the common people in Japan.
Salvatore Ferragamo was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. In addition to experimenting with materials including kangaroo, crocodile, and fish skin, Ferragamo drew on historic inspiration for his shoes.
Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry, the common understanding is that a sandal leaves all or most of the foot exposed.
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation, doing business as Deckers Brands, is a footwear designer and distributor based in Goleta, California, United States. It was founded in 1973 by University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Doug Otto and Karl F. Lopker. In 1975, the company was incorporated in California under the name Deckers Corporation. In October 1993, Deckers initiated a public offering of stock in its company. Deckers' portfolio of brands includes UGG, Teva, Sanuk, Hoka One One and Koolaburra.
Asics is a Japanese multinational corporation that produces sportswear. The name is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano. Asics is best known for its sneakers, but also produces other footwear such as sandals, as well as clothing and accessories. It is headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
Galoshes, also known by many other names, are a type of overshoe or rubber boot that is put on over shoes to keep them from getting muddy or wet during inclement weather.
Hush Puppies is an American brand of casual footwear. A division of Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan. Wolverine also licenses the Hush Puppies name for apparel, toys and accessories.
Saucony is an American brand of athletic footwear and apparel. Founded in 1898, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. Products commercialised by Saucony include footwear and clothing ranges, such as athletic shoes, jackets, hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants, shorts, and socks. Accessories include hats and backpacks.
Wolverine World Wide, Inc. or Wolverine Worldwide, is a publicly traded American footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. The shoemaker is known for its eponymous brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, as well as other brands, such as Hush Puppies, Chaco, and Merrell. The company also manufactures licensed footwear for other firms, such as Caterpillar and Harley-Davidson. In 2012, Wolverine World Wide added Saucony, Keds, Stride Rite and Sperry Top-Sider to its list of brands, after acquiring the Performance Lifestyle Group of Collective Brands in a $1.23 billion transaction that also involved the sale of Payless ShoeSource and Collective Licensing International to private equity firms Blum Capital Partners and Golden Gate Capital.
K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles. It was founded in 1966 and is currently owned by Chinese sports equipment manufacturing company Xtep.
Merrell is an American manufacturing company of footwear products. It was founded by Clark Matis, Randy Merrell, and John Schweizer in 1981 as a maker of high-performance hiking boots. Since 1997, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolverine World Wide. Products currently commercialized by Merrell include hiking boots, athletic shoes, sandals, jackets, knit caps, gloves, t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, and socks. Other accessories include backpacks, stuff sacks, and bags.
Bernardo Sandals was founded in 1946 by architect Bernard Rudofsky and Berta Rudofsky. The Rudofskys went into sandal design following the 1944 exhibition, "Are Clothes Modern?" that Mr. Rudofsky curated at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Source Sandals, known in Hebrew as Shoresh Sandals, are outdoor, trekking and hiking sandals made in the style of "biblical sandals". They are marketed as having a "Non-Slip sole even in wet conditions" and a typical patented x-strap-design. They have a strong tradition especially in the world of backpackers. They are manufactured in Tirat Carmel in northern Israel and sold both in Israel and worldwide.
Altra Running, commonly known as Altra, is an American manufacturing company engaged in the design, development, marketing, and sales of athletic shoes for road running, trail running, and general footwear. Since 2018 Altra is owned by VF Corporation, an American global apparel and footwear company with other brands like Icebreaker, The North Face, Vans, JanSport, Eastpak and Timberland.
La Sportiva is a footwear brand founded in 1928 by Narciso Delladio in Italy. He started his business by manufacturing boots and clogs for farmers and lumberjacks. In World War II, he helped to provide Italy's soldiers with custom mountaineering boots. In the 1950s, he began to make ski boots and first introduced the brand name of La Sportiva.
Allbirds, Inc. is a New Zealand and American company that sells footwear and apparel. The company claims to keep its products as eco-friendly as possible and is a certified B Corporation. Allbirds uses a direct-to-consumer model in conjunction with distribution via select additional stores, selling its products through its website and retail stores in addition to select Nordstrom and Dick's Sporting Goods locations.
