From sole to soul: modes of meaning-making in contemporary sneaker collecting

How does collecting remain meaningful in a relatively sterile, transparent marketplace driven by disenchanted financial logic and seamless, frictionless consumption options? This study explores how sneaker collectors sustain and create new meanings for contemporary sneaker collecting in response to the convenience and saturation of online (re)sell marketplaces. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Dutch sneaker collectors (n = 20), we identify five collector orientations based on the strategies they employ to make the practice meaningful: (1) expressionists, (2) social connectors, (3) aesthetes, (4) completionists, and (5) hunters. Each represents a different mode of engagement with sneaker collecting, whether through identity work, aesthetic appreciation, or strategic navigation of market dynamics. Expressionists use sneakers to construct biographical narratives, while social connectors prioritize shared belonging and community. Aesthetes are guided by aesthetic and cultural value, and completionists and hunters create meaning either by achieving closure or constantly extending the thrill of the hunt. These findings suggest that contemporary collecting cannot be reduced to ‘shallow’ consumerism, nor can it be understood as an individual and isolated practice. Instead, collecting acquires meaning through the interplay between producers, consumers, and the digital and physical spaces in which it takes place.