My father, he has 50 pairs of different coloured Chucks, so is he not part of our sneaker culture?” asks Dion Walcott, co-founder of Toronto Loves Kicks (TLK). He is referring to the widely known adaptation of North American sneaker culture, where shoes baring the names of Lebron James and Michael Jordan reign supreme.

The concept of what sneaker culture means specifically in Toronto varies because the term ‘culture’ is “such a loose term,” according to Walcott. What can’t be denied though is shoe stores now flood downtown Toronto. The brightly lit Dundas Square is home to the galvanizing House of Hoops, which was formerly only found in the U.S. A mere few blocks away in the unsuspecting corridors of Yorkville are high-end and specialty boutiques like Capsule.

It hasn’t been all growth though. Nike Toronto, located in Yorkville, closed its doors in 2013, a shocking demise for one of the only flagship stores in Toronto. The influence of these boutiques has led to speculation that stores like Capsule and former hotspot North Trooper were part of the reason Nike’s flagship store in Yorkville closed. Nike was unable to comment about the store closure….

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