Hip hop artists shouted out sneakers in songs and wore brand new pairs of sought-after shoes on stage. From the old school (Boogie Down Productions, Nas, Jadakiss, and Ghostface Killa) to current artists (Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rick Ross, RiFF RAFF, and Pusha T), lyrics referencing Jordans or Nike Airs demonstrated the link between hip-hop and Tinker Hatfield’s desirable sneakers. While Hatfield had created visionary design objects, his shoes were as-so-far only associated with their function. Jordans and Air Maxes were worn by artists in “hip hop clothing” outfits that were often what the artists had worn before their rise to fame: baggy jeans, camo prints, and hooded sweatshirts. Worn like this, Hatfield’s designs were more status symbol, evidence of newfound wealth that allows one to buy expensive basketball shoes, than fashion piece (shown on rapper Nas, here, in 2010.) Two major influences would guide the transition of Tinker Hatfield’s shoes from a purely athletic sneaker to a runway fashion piece: Kanye West and the A$AP Mob.

Kanye’s 2009 transition to modern, haute couture-influenced streetwear left many long-time hip hop fans baffled; drapey, goth, ninja-esque outfits from high fashion houses seemed to contradict everything the genre stood for as a voice for the inner city voiceless. Even as leather kilts and crystal masks replaced his trademark pink polos, West incorporated Air Jordans into many outfits (pictured here on a runway at Paris Fashion Week 2011 in Hatfield-designed Jordan VI’s).