We’re kicking off 2025 the best way we know how – with an all-new size? collections. Starting the year out strong, we have something a little different for you. We sit down with @sjwsneakers to discuss all things trainers and his vast brand-spanning anthology. Stewart’s collection reaches over 500 pairs and we couldn’t wait to have a look. Check it out below.
Stewart Walker has been a collector for 35 years with the love affair starting early at the age of 14. “Thanks to the emergence of sportswear marketing in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s”, you couldn’t help but notice trainers. As a kid, Stewart already had an affinity for sports shoes being into football, basketball and running, so wearing trainers off the field, court and track came as a natural step.
His eclectic taste and diverse choice in brands come from childhood, he recalls “back then, you had the rich kids walking round with the new shoes – the Air Max 1s, the Diadora Borg Elites… We didn’t have a lot of money then so I bought other brands like PUMA and Reebok, I even had a pair of Pony American Football Trainers.”
For Stewart, collecting is all about the memories, emotional attachments, experiences and the people you spend your time with along the way. Trainers can be nostalgia-inducing, calling back to days with mates and the buzz of going into town on Saturdays just to look at shoes. He told us, that to learn about the next big thing and what was up and coming, you had to find out for yourself by going into shops, “there was no internet or social media, you had to go in and get the catalogues and look through magazines”. We certainly have it a lot easier today.
There are many standouts for Stewart in his collection. He has two pairs of original rerelease Air Max 95s on display, his from the 2001 rollout and his wife’s from the 1999 release, which she wore underneath her wedding dress. Iconic. Another honourable mention goes to the special pair of all-white Adicolors, which come in a wooden palette box complete with (untouched) acrylic paints, brushes and paint board – picked up in size? Birmingham in the early 2000s.
We asked Stewart what it is he likes about collaborations and he told us that it’s “the originality, the creativity of the pairs – I love that brands in the past have historically supported stores and independent retailers – it’s a big deal”. When it comes down to it, choosing a top 3 from the collabs in his collection was tough, but if he had to choose it would be; the Diadora x LimitedEDitions Castellers at number 1, the ASICS x Patta GEL-LYTE 3 friends and family edition – complete with rucksack – at number 2, and for #3 it had to be the Nike x Parra Air Max 1 Amsterdam.
Looking for more of this? Find more size? collections stories on our blog.
