Next up on our  ‘More than a Sneakerhead’ series in collaboration with Women In Sneakers, we have retail marketing and Activations Manager at adidas UK, Nisha. From the brands that excite Nisha the most, to her thoughts on the future of the streetwear and sneaker industry, we passed the mic to Nisha for an expert insight.

Nisha: “Representation is making sure that the biggest voices get heard, but also the smallest voices. There’s nothing wrong with working with someone who’s got 2000 followers versus somebody who’s got 10,000 followers”

When it comes to being a woman in a male dominated scene, Nisha believes there’s more visibility of women now. “I think it’s more about equality, visibility, and opportunity. There’s a real fine balance between being a “tomboy” and being the girl. And I think in a male dominated industry, you can almost feel a bit sexualized, especially within streetwear and sneakers.

I think there’s definitely more women in the scene. I think. Women are more respected, whereas before it was very male-dominated.”

In terms of the future of sneaker/streetwear culture, we’re almost losing layers. So, previously, you’d look at a shoe and it’ll have the ‘back heel tab’, the ‘front tab’, the ‘side panel’, ‘laces’. Whereas now it’s all 3D printed. You’ll find like, foam style shoes. And I think Meta is gonna be a thing for the sneaker game. I also think brands are gonna be revisiting their past a lot more.

I really, really like brands that have purpose. There’s so many brands up there that are doing amazing drops, like Represent, but then you get brands like Daily Paper and everything they do is about purpose. It’s all about community. Every story they tell connects back to the products and where it’s come from. Like it’s never just, oh, we’re printing a t-shirt for the sake of printing a t-shirt, because everyone loves it.”

We asked Nisha about women in the creative industry that inspires her… “The first I’m gonna say is Rihannon Isabel. Uh, she’s uh, an archiver of products. She’s a stylist. She’s just incredible. Like her hustle, what she’s done with wavy gums and her own sort of, She’s a massive collector of like nineties archives essentially. 

The second girl I wanna shout out is Naomi Richardson, um, also known as ‘Naysap’. She has girl gang, she has her nail business. She does tooth gems. Like there’s nothing this girl won’t touch that turns into gold. 

And third is a bit of a rogue one, as I don’t know if anyone will know her, but her name is Coralie Rose. She’s a casting director for a company called Road Casting. She gave me confidence and personal style. She’s a mother, she’s a business owner, she’s an entrepreneur, and I just think she’s incredible.

I’m more than a sneaker head. I’m bringing opportunity, equality and visibility for women in the scene.”