Me and Mrs Bax were out for dinner recently with a mate and her two teenage kids. The boy, Charlie aged 15, was wearing an Ellesse tee shirt and telling me he was mad for the old school Adidas trainer designs. I asked him why he was into that brand and the era they sprang from, and he told me he wanted to ‘be different.’

Now, the thought struck me, that standing out as a sorted teenager in today’s mass consumeristic world, where one high street and shopping centre looks the same as any other, can’t be easy.  I admired his desire to step out from the crowd. The fact this he was wearing labels that I myself sported over 40 years ago, also piqued my interest. I thought about our conversation the next day and one brand that had been mentioned to me recently, namely ‘Kickers’ stuck in my mind. Back in my ‘label slave’ days, I sported a navy-blue pair of ‘Hi Kicks’ complete with a variety of different coloured ‘Fleur’ tags hanging from a lace. For a short while, these shoes were a much sought-after brand, along with Lacoste, Fila, Tacchini and Lois, among others, as our daywear of choice.

The shoe kicked off in 1970, all puns intended, founded by footwear company owner, Daniel Raufast, who along with his chief designer Jacques Chevalleraeau, were inspired in their design, by a combination of the poster for the musical ‘Hair’ and the prevailing peace and love vibe coming from the jean wearing ‘relaxed’ (i.e., stoned) Parisian students they observed.

They were intended by Raufast to be worn with jeans, so with a dressing ‘down’ expression at the forefront. He set about making them through the children’s footwear company he owned, E. Raufast and Sons and in some ways, looking back with hindsight, they were very ‘child like’ in design .

Originally constructed of natural, colourful materials, they had a Nubuck body, crepe soles, large engraved eyelets, contrast stitching and red and green discs on the sole and the same colour ‘tabs’ on the shoe, indicating, with a nod to their usual customer base of children, which shoe to put on which foot. The whole ensemble had a prevailing feel of the ‘hairy and flarey’ brigade .

They were a success and word of mouth quickly grew the brand from selling 300 pairs a month to over 12,000 pairs a month very quickly. By the mid 1970s, over 70 countries were stocking them.  Originally sold in bags, not boxes, they were available in all sizes and 16 colourways, and so in effect, unisex. Their name is said to derive from the phrase ‘kicking up convention.’

The ‘Kick Hi’ style arrived in 1975, which happened to be the very same time the company opened a shop  on the Kings Road in London. Word spread just as quickly on them over here, and more importantly to the eyes & ears of my peers, who by the late 70s and very early 80s were making trips to purchase, or ‘chore’ them (sorry mum.)  

Soon, they were all over the pavements of SE5, on the feet of those in search of the lesser spotted ‘this and that,’ trying desperately to stay at the front of the style game.

Ours too were worn with jeans, but we were far more clean and fussy than late 60s French hippy students, so any association ended there.

In time, we all moved on, as ‘we’ always did, but the next generation behind us, took the footwear forward as part of the Acid House/Rave/ Baggy ‘Manchester’ movement  and the brand name lived on.

Eventually,  the early 80s heyday was over however,  and the arrival of the omnipresent trainer, meant sales dipped quickly.

Musicians over the years have all loved the shoe, from Rod The Mod to Bowie to Elton to Ian Brown & Stone Roses, Mike Skinner, Ms. Dynamite, The So Solid Crew, Jarvis Cocker and Noel and Liam all getting them on at various stages of their careers.

As such they have never really gone away,  as a quick look at online sites like ‘80s Casual Classics’ will confirm.

They’ve gone through a fair few style ideas in the intervening years, which are not really a bit of me, but they survive to this day. In fact, I can’t help but smile when I see countless schoolkids sporting the ‘Lo’ style from the label today.

Who knows, maybe they are due a revival, I mean we’ve all been part of them haven’t we?

If it happens, I know young Charlie will be ready and at the head of the coup.

The Mumper of SE5

 

THE SPEAKEASY VOLUME 1

THE SPEAKEASY Volume One by Mark Baxter (The Mumper)

Illustrations by Lewis Wharton

Foreword by Gary Crowley

Available to ORDER here

 

ART GALLERY CLOTHING

Our classic range of knitwear is available in our shop

Highlights include style Anders – a 100% cotton version of the classic three buttoned knitted polo shirt, pure modernist aesthetic.

Available in four colours, Black, Sailor Blue, Wine & Scotch Broom.

 

Use discount code

agc20jan22 

for a 20% discount on knitwear & shirts

Valid til 31.01.2022 11.59pm GMT