Pro-Keds Royal Flash Mid

Keds is an American brand of canvas shoes with rubber soles. Founded in 1916, the company is owned by Wolverine World Wide. The original shoe design, the Champion, was the first mass-marketed canvas-top "sneaker".

History

Early history

In 1916, U.S. Rubber consolidated 30 different shoe brand names to create one company. Initially, the brand name "Peds" was chosen for the company from the Latin word for feet, but the name was already trademarked. Because the shoes had a soft rubber sole, they became known as ''sneakers'' as the rubber soles allowed "sneaking around silently". By the early 1920s, the shoes were worn by Olympic soccer players, national and international tennis champions, and college athletes. In 1926, the Keds Triumph shoe was introduced. Keds released "Kedettes", a line of washable high-heeled shoes for women, in 1938.

Pro-Keds

In 1949, Pro-Keds were introduced as a line of sneakers for athletic performance intended to compete with the industry standard, Converse. Designed specifically for basketball players, the original style, the Royal, was endorsed by George Mikan. In 1953, the Minneapolis Lakers were outfitted with Pro-Keds. In 1969, Pro-Keds introduced the 69er, and demand for them in Harlem and The Bronx was so overwhelming that they became known as "Uptowns". The early 1970s saw the introduction of the Royal Plus, also known as the "Suede Super", which had a suede upper, padded collar, and was available in a high or low top. Pro-Keds were worn by NBA stars including Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, JoJo White, Bob Love, Lou Hudson, Bob Lanier and "Pistol" Pete Maravich, as well as musicians The Ramones. The brand gained a following in the hip-hop community by the late 1970s.

In the spring of 1980, Pro-Keds launched a collection of performance cupsole basketball shoes with the marquee model being the Shotmaker. The Shotmaker would be worn by Ralph Sampson and Gerald Henderson. In 1981 Sugar Ray Leonard became a spokesperson for the brand.

Stride Rite and Wolverine World Wide ownership

Stride Rite Corporation purchased Keds and Sperry Top-Sider from Uniroyal in 1979 for $18 million.

Keds has produced collaborative collections with companies including Kate Spade New York, Madewell, Opening Ceremony, Steven Alan and Alice + Olivia. In 2009, Keds launched a collaboration with Loomstate which was sold at Barneys New York. The shoes were made with organic cotton, recycled rubber and non-toxic inks and dyes.

Collective Brands Inc., the parent company of Stride Rite Corporation and Keds, was acquired by Wolverine World Wide for $1.32 billion in May 2012.

Keds launched the "Ladies First Since 1916" campaign in July 2015, which focuses on female empowerment and featured celebrities including Taylor Swift. In 2016 Keds celebrated its centennial and the continuation of its "Ladies First Since 1916" campaign with a birthday celebration held during New York Fashion Week. The company also announced that its shoe manufacturing was moving to Michigan, in the U.S. for the first time in 35 years.

Popular culture

The shoes have been worn by celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Betty White, Humphrey Bogart, Natalie Portman, Fred Rogers, and Taylor Swift.

After the release of the 1987 movie ''Dirty Dancing'', in which Jennifer Grey wore Keds, company revenue grew 10 times. Many cheerleaders also wore Keds as part of their uniform during the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

In the 1990s, Demi Moore voiced a television campaign for Keds. Mischa Barton, who starred in ''The O.C.'', became the face of Keds in an ad campaign in the late 2000s.

In the Stephen King novella ''Apt Pupil'', guidance counselor Ed French owns several pairs of Keds, which he (incorrectly) believes will endear him to the student body. They nickname him "Sneaker Pete" and "The Ked Man."

In the film '' The Truth About Cats and Dogs'', Ben Chaplin asks Janeane Garofalo to give him a personal item of hers. She tosses a shoe down to him and he picks it up and comments, "Wow...it's a Ked!"

Keds are mentioned in the Wheatus song "Teenage Dirtbag." The subject of the song is described as wearing "Keds and tube socks."

In the USSR and many post-Soviet countries, sneakers with canvas tops became known generically as "keds" (Russian: кеды).

References

External links

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{{Clothing

Athletic shoe brands
Shoe brands
Clothing companies established in 1916
Wolverine World Wide
Companies based in Lexington, Massachusetts
1910s fashion
1920s fashion
1930s fashion
1940s fashion
1950s fashion
1960s fashion
1970s fashion
1980s fashion
1990s fashion
2000s fashion
2010s fashion
1916 establishments in New York (state)