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Entering Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks, the new sneaker exhibit at the Portland Art Museum, visitors first pass through a cascading archway constructed of strips of plastic air-pillow packaging. Once in the gallery, there’s the thumping beat of a shoe-themed playlist that includes “Hit the Streetz in My Nikes” by Kid Cudi and “My Adidas” by Run-D.M.C.. Shoes that would blow an average sneakerhead’s mind are propped up on faux boulders and pedestals and in glass cases.
That sneakerhead is not, mind you, Herbert Beauclere.
The 34-year-old is the co-founder of Sneaker Week PDX, an annual industry festival that hits Pioneer Courthouse Square this summer July 26–Aug. 1. Despite his deep ties to the footwear industry, Beauclere does not self-identify as a sneakerhead and prefers people not call him that.
“I would be offended,” he says. “It’s associated with being a collector that has no conscience behind what they’re buying and is very impulsive, so it almost kind of feels derogatory.”
Beauclere would consent to the nomenclature if the person defined sneakerhead as “someone who uses sneakers to build connections and create opportunities for people who are passionate about footwear,” as that’s the goal of Sneaker Week PDX.
He generously offered to guide WW through the Future Now exhibit—on view at the museum through Aug. 11—since he has personal connections to many of the brands and shoes on display. These are the five pairs that struck Beauclere as the most impactful out of the nearly 60 on display. (If he could choose one to own it would be the Nike MAGs.)
Beauclere will also speak at the museum on Thursday, April 25, at 6 pm with Sneaker Week co-founder Megan Davis, and will lead children in sneaker design camps this summer.
1. Nike MAG, 2015
In 1989′s Back to the Future II, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) wears a pair of self-lacing Nike MAGs (actually done with special effects). In 2015, Nike released 89 pairs of real self-lacing MAGs to raise money for Fox’s foundation for Parkinson’s research. Pairs are now go on eBay for roughly $15,000 to $70,000.
Beauclere: “Back to the Future was a big blockbuster franchise, and the fact that they called out Nike as the specific brand at that time was, like, pretty new to media. That was a groundbreaking partnership. Obviously, it positioned Nike as a premier brand and an innovator, but the fact that they actually ended up producing the shoe to help folks with disabilities that can’t necessarily tie their own shoes was really great. It was all-around dope from a marketing point of view and from a functional [and] innovation point of view.”
2. Pyer Moss Sculpt, 2020
Pyer Moss is a fashion brand founded in 2013 by Haitian American designer Kerby Jean-Raymond. The Sculpt is his first in-house sneaker and features a distinctive, futuristic sole and a suede-and-mesh upper with white topstitch.
Beauclere: “That one is really cool because of the idea that sneaker culture has now infiltrated high fashion. The shoe is super recognizable—you can tell from afar what that shoe is just by its shape. It really represents this whole wave of, like, designer sneakers reaching the peak of fashion. Plus, it’s by Kerby Jean-Raymond and there’s not a lot of Black representation within luxury designer powerhouses.”
3. Mr. Bailey Octopus, 2018
Daniel Bailey’s Octopus shoe, created for the Takashi Murakami x ComplexCon exhibition, features a tentacle-inspired sole with suckers that reach upward.
Beauclere: “A lot of the shoes that are in the exhibit are highly functional, highly reproduced—they’re manufactured in the tens of thousands. But this shoe being a very rare piece, something that is intentional to be a kind of art piece, just shows that it’s not just a product for mass consumption. Some of these pieces can be canvases for artists and designers to collaborate. Murakami is one of the most popular contemporary artists of our generation. He designed the album cover for Kanye West’s Graduation with the little teddy bear.”
4. Joey Khamis x Gravity Sketch, 2024
Gravity Sketch is a tool that allows people to work collaboratively in 3D. In 2023, the company invited footwear designer Joey Khamis to create the company’s first sneaker. The shoes are on display, along with a video explaining the technology.
Beauclere: “It’s a shoe that was designed in VR. A pencil never has to touch paper. To know that technology now allows us to draw in 3D and design 3D products in 3D space is just something that will continue to be revolutionary. It will change the way design is approached and products are made.”
5. Zvnder x Nat-2 Fungi, 2022
These sneakers are made using mushroom “leather” created out of the middle layer of tinder sponge, which grows on dead or weak birch and beech trees.
Beauclere: “When you think about sustainability, the mushroom leather is most significant. It’s looking at ways to solve something that might not be a problem for the user, but it could be a problem for the industry or for the world and the environment. It’s really inspiring and super powerful. You can take design a lot further than just aesthetic.”
GO: Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks shows at the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-226-2811, portlandartmuseum.org. 10 am–8 pm Thursday–Friday, 10 am–6 pm Saturday–Sunday, through Aug. 11. $25, children 17 and under free.