The One where Ross wears Air Max 98s

It's hard to believe, but Friends, one of the most popular sitcoms ever made, which still makes a decent chunk of change in syndication ($944 Million is nothing to scoff at), is about to celebrate it's 25th anniversary (it premiered in 1994). Twenty five years of will-they-won't-they Rachel and Ross plots, "Smelly Cat" sing-a-longs, and "How you doin'" pick-up lines, your relationship with Friends has probably spanned longer than your relationships with real-life friends, and definitely longer than your romantic endeavors with your own high school crush. There is a close relationship between television series and sneakers, as often they are used by brands as a non-invasive platform to present their products. The  Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Seinfeld are two classic series which perfectly represent footwear of that era, but you'd be hard pressed to find people who would look to another 90s classic series, Friends, when thinking of sneakers.

The return of the nineties as a visual and styling reference has brought back some of its most representative images. For ten years, Friends served as a resource for what you should wear and the hairstyles of Rachel Green created a craze lasting generations. Friends may have not invented style, but it did popularize the Boho-chic of Phoebe, the minimalist style of Monica and Chandler, and Rachel's fashionista essence. But what about sneakers?

Dinosaur fanatic, Ross Geller is usually named as the worst-dressed amongst the six Friends, although it can be said that the out-of-date paleontologist look, leather pants fiasco, and Custo women's shirt were requirements of the script. His shoe game however did include some fascinating specimens, like the Jordan XIII in the first episode of the season 5, and the recently re-edited Nike Terra Humara. Some appearances were rightly normcore, like Monica with Converse Jack Purcell and CVO style shoes, plus Chandler with Converse Chuck Taylor.



The perfect example is during season 9, when Chandler has to create an ad campaign selling a pair of outrageous sneakers and enters his apartment stating, "Honey, I'm old!". Chandler feels too old to sell a pair of shoes that no self-respecting adult would ever wear; it's quite ironic, as his style is wearing more classic white sneakers, but yet he has to sell a pair of shoes designed with wheels and fire patterns. The story of Chandler's shoes seems to jump over the final decisions of wardrobe managers and lean more towards the personal style of the actor himself, Matthew Perry. During his childhood in Canada, Matthew was an avid tennis player and even came to think of dedicating himself to the sport professionally. In fact, in some scenes, you can see on Perry's feet models like the Nike GTS (a sneaker designed for tennis clubs) in the style of Nike Grandstand and performance shoes like the Max2 Spa.

In the episode, "The One with the Routine", while searching in Monica's apartment for their Christmas presents, a pair of old and used Nike Tech Challenge II Hot Lava appear; a nod to those old shoes we save knowing we'll never wear them again. The actress, who played Monica, Courtney Cox, was also a tennis fanatic and in the some of the later seasons of Friends, she could be seen sporting Puma GV. The six Friends, all together, were more interested in watching sports than in practicing them. Knicks and Giants t-shirts appeared as a complement even to the locker room of rarely sporty, Rachel Green (you may recall her performance as a football player, during the Thanksgiving game). Monica's Nike top with an oversized swoosh; Nike, adidas, and And1 t-shirts and sweaters were more subtle than the omnipresence of Ralph Lauren. The designer himself even appeared as a character; sporting his sports brand, the now defunct RLX





Although Chandler and Joey may have involved themselves in extreme sports; like the time they chased a bus wearing some Nike Ndestrukt Low and Air Max Sensation CW, when they lost Ross' baby, they normally wore basic sneaker silhouettes. Phoebe even created a new running style, due to a pair of bad running shoes, and Joey hurt himself doing ab workouts with a pair of adidas that did not go down in history. On the brighter side, Ross Geller tried to impress Emily by playing rugby in an appropriate yellow and blue polo to match his Air Max 98.

However, without a doubt, the most famous episode related to sneakers was that of "The One with the Football"; where Rachel appeared wearing a pair of Air Max 96 (We had to stop and rewind a few times just to be sure). Rachel Green established the pattern of fashionista girl with white sneakers; something we still see in today's fashion trends (Vans, Superga, adidas Stan Smith).



During the first few seasons, a variety of brands appeared on the show; even though Nike had created a special sneaker for the series. Nevertheless, this special sneaker, the Nike Air Edge, did not appear on the show, as it displayed Friends branding and would create confusion. The curious choice of model is interesting, however, as the sneaker emulates the normcore wardrobe of the series. In the last few seasons, Puma starts to appear with a vengeance, due to the involvement of shareholder, Arnon Milchan.

Friends may be fondly remembered for Rachel's hairstyles, and Chandler's outrageous dance moves, but its sneakers managed to personify a generation, which now uses them as a reference. Someday, sneakers in movies/tv series will be treated with the respect they deserve. One day a McFly will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an Air Jordan will get signed up for a sequel, and a Cortez will win the Academy Award for Best Sneaker in a Supporting Role (and give one heck of a speech).