Shoebox Museum: Icons and Innovators in Sneaker Packaging, on view in New York City’s Lower East Side, explores an often-overlooked aspect of the sneakerhead experience – the shoebox.
The first exhibition of its kind Shoebox Museum displays for public viewing the world’s most iconic packaging, recognizing the brands, designers and collaborations that have shaped consumer experiences for decades. Located at 198 Allen Street, the museum will be open to the public daily from 10am to 7pm from August 29 through August 31.
Curated by Matt Halfhill, founder of Nice Kicks, the museum looks at the sneaker box through three separate lenses: design, brand experience and uncommon concepts. To create the exhibit, Matt carefully sourced a unique collection of boxes that have created memorable journeys for consumers and cult-like followings for brands.
“We designed the Shoebox Museum experience to spotlight a piece of sneaker culture that has been reimagined many times over, but never gotten the credit it deserves,” says Matt. “Sneaker brands know they need to innovate to stand out from the crowd. For special releases and luxury items especially, brands put an immense amount of design effort into the box to create an unforgettable consumer journey.”
The growth of the sneaker industry has been fueled by boundary-pushing design and a culture synonymous with music and fashion. The resale market in particular has seen remarkable growth with staggering start-up valuations of late for companies that facilitate after-market trade. Even after-market, the box plays an important role in continuing the brand journey and ensuring authenticity in a marketplace ripe with fakes.
“The sneaker industry is projected to reach over $95 billion in value by 2025 – the safe passage and consumer experience for nearly all of those goods is powered by paper-based packaging,” says Mary Anne Hansan, president of the Paper and Packaging Board. “Beyond the safety and security they provide, shoeboxes help brands set the tone for the product inside through graphic art, interesting textures and innovative construction. The impact of the shoebox should not be overlooked.”
The project was made possible by the Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds® campaign, which highlights paper and packaging innovation.
About the Paper and Packaging Board
The Paper and Packaging Board promotes the use of paper products and paper-based packaging by highlighting the value they bring to our daily lives. More than 40 U.S. manufacturers and importers collectively fund the national marketing campaign, Paper & Packaging – How Life Unfolds®. www.howlifeunfolds.com
About Nice Kicks
From humble beginnings, Nice Kicks started in the spring of 2006 in a spare bedroom with one mission: to provide shoe-enthusiasts authoritative, accurate, and credible news, information, and history about sneakers. In addition to delivering the latest sneaker news, information, release dates, and history, Nice Kicks prides itself on a commitment to engagement with its readers. With active social conversation with readers, Nice Kicks is always approachable and always available to anyone with sneaker questions. Find out more at www.nicekicks.com
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