Instagram story viewer> @thomas_a_turner> Posts

Thomas Turner

@thomas_a_turner

1.1K

followers

2499

following

Trainers and cars, mainly
-
Author:
The Sports Shoe: A History from Field to Fashion
The Gold

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

New book out now! Nike Football Boots

I was very fortunate to be part of this brilliant book project by @phaidonpress and @nike , which I'm pleased to say is published today.

As you might guess from the title, the book is about Nike football boots. My written contributions cover the design history of four Nike boot families: Tiempo, Mercurial, Total 90, and Phantom. The broader cultural significance of Nike boots is covered excellently by @caleb_anelson . The introduction is by curator Eleanor Watson. Nick Schonberger from Nike wrote the foreword, the afterword is by Claudia Cándano de la Peza. As you'd expect from Phaidon, the book is a thing of beauty, and is packed full of fantastic images from the Nike archive.

It's available online direct from Phaidon's website and will be in good bookshops and the usual online places. by @thomas_a_turner

140

22

6 months ago

Look what arrived in the post! The @designmuseum currently has an exhibition on called 'Designing the Beautiful Game' all about football. It is a collaboration with the @nationalfootballmuseum in Manchester. @rachel.haj very kindly invited me to write a short piece about football boots for the accompanying book, so I put together a brief history of studs and materials.

The book is a fantastic piece of work, almost 300 pages full of great writing and pictures, and beautifully put together. It's an honour to have been included (and also rather pleasing to be the first piece in it). I've not yet had chance to visit the exhibition but I'm certain it and the book will be a must for anyone with even just a passing interest in football.

Football: Designing the Beautiful Game is on until 29 August.

The book can be ordered from the @designmuseum website.

#designmuseum #footballfans #footballdesign #soccerdesign #soccerboots #footballboots #soccerhistory #footballhistory #designhistory #sneakerhistory #fashionhistory #casuals #footballbooks #adidashistory #nikehistory taken in Design Museum by @thomas_a_turner

132

13

4 years ago

A year ago this book I wrote about trainers was officially published. I've had some good times since: making new friends, reconnecting with old ones, being interviewed on the radio and filmed opening shoe boxes for telly, and a whole lot of talking about sneakers. The book grew out of a PhD thesis, which grew out of an MA essay, which grew out of a youthful obsession. So it took a little while to get it onto the bookshop shelves! If you haven't already, I suggest you buy a copy 😘 Link in my bio.

#sneakers #sneakeraddict #sneakerhead #sneakerhistory #kickstagram #sneakertalk #vintageadidas #adidashistory #vintagenike #vintagepuma #vintagevans #vandoren #dunlop #vintagereebok #vintageconverse #chucktaylor #hiphophistory #skateboardhistory #80scasuals #sportshistory #fashionhistory #industrialheritage #shoedesign #footweardesign #moderndesign #designbooks #fashionbook #beautifulbooks #bookdesign #bookstagram taken in London, United Kingdom by @thomas_a_turner

151

22

7 years ago

I wrote a piece this week for @telegraph about some of the challenges Nike currently faces in the sneaker market following the recent fall in its stock valuation. It took in adidas's success with the Samba, collaborations, the rise of Hoka and On, and a little bit of history.

A big thank you to @claudine_rousseau , @madebyjase , @kyle_goodhood , and @kishkash1 for taking the time to share their thoughts with me.

Thank you to @bethanholt at @telegraphfashion for asking me to write it. Biggest thanks are to @hannah.rochell for recommending me!

#sneakers #trainers #nike #adidas #newbalance #hoka #on taken in Wall Street by @thomas_a_turner

161

19

2 years ago

This post is to say a belated but nonetheless massive thank you to the good people at @adidas for sending me a pair of the new, highly limited, Forum Hi 84 "Blizzard" made to go with my good friend @madebyjase 's terrific book about @jacqueschassaing , the man responsible for this and many other classic shoes.

The design here commemorates a key moment in its creation. After a meeting with American distributors in which the possibility of a new adidas basketball shoe was discussed, Jacques' flight from New York back to France was cancelled because of a huge snowstorm. He spent a night in a snow-covered NYC, where he began the thinking that would lead to the adidas Forum. On this special version, the white leather and clear sole reference the icy conditions, while the embroidery and graphics reflect the neon advertising lights and graffiti Jacques saw everywhere as he made his way about the city.

The shoes come in a groovy satchel and, best of all, in this package came with a copy of Jason's excellent book. If you haven't already, you should buy a copy! It was published by @rizzolibooks and is available in all the usual places. While you're at it, you can also buy a copy of his first trainers book, Golden Kicks, which is one of the best and most original on the topic.

It's taken me a while for me to post about this, partly because the parcel containing the shoes was mistakenly addressed to me but at a flat with the same number as mine in a neighbouring building. The woman there was somewhat baffled to receive this enormous box - and it is ENORMOUS - with a label addressed to someone she didn't know at her flat! After pondering it and having a peek inside she eventually decided to knock on my door to check if there was anyone called Thomas Turner living there. Phew! So the parcel reached me in the end, just as Jacques Chassaing eventually got back to France and his drawing board.

The Blizzard Forum will go on sale in adidas Consortium stores and online on 29 September. Numbers are highly limited!

A big thank you to Jason and everyone at adidas for sending me a pair, and to Jacques for designing them in the first place.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❄️❄️❄️🚥🚥🚥🏀🏀🏀 taken in JFK Airport, New York by @thomas_a_turner

86

9

3 years ago

I had a great time last night at the adidas Originals pop-up exhibition on Greek Street in Soho. It celebrates the Superstar, the Gazelle, and the Samba, all shoes I've studied and written about in the past. There was a fascinating panel talk by @jonnygee928 of @mcr_hip_hop_archive , @gary.aspden and @blunt_shank about adidas's connection to hip hop and other subcultures in Britain. There's also a lot of very special old shoes and adidas ephemera on display too, but you'll have to take my word for that as my phone camera died. It's well worth checking out and has been put together really well by @braaav and the team at @adidasoriginals and @footpatrol . Best of all, I got to make some new friends and meet some people in 3D who I've known for ages through social media. 💙/// by @thomas_a_turner

80

9

3 years ago

My car 🌞

#golfgti #golf2 #golfmk2 by @thomas_a_turner

102

8

3 years ago

A handful of cars at the VW show at Stanford Hall yesterday. taken in Stanford Hall by @thomas_a_turner

92

1

3 years ago

I hope everybody has watched The Gold on BBC 1. If not, all episodes are available now on iPlayer. As you'll know if you've seen my stories, I did all the research for the series, which meant spending over two years becoming an expert on the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery and its aftermath. I'll let you in on a secret: a lot of what you see on screen is made up. That's the way with drama. If you're interested to know the real story about what happened after armed robbers stole gold bullion worth £26 million from a security depot at Heathrow Airport, and you should be because it's absolutely fascinating and far more complicated than can be shown in a TV drama, you can read all about it in the book I co-authored with Neil Forsyth, the TV series's writer and creator. The Gold (the book) is published today by Penguin Random House on their Ebury Spotlight imprint. They tell me it will be on sale in supermarkets, so you can pick up a copy with your weekly shop. If not, it's available to order now in all the usual online places. Link in bio.

Final pic is of 40 Greville Street, Hatton Garden. In 1984 it contained the office of International Precious Metal Co, one of several businesses involved in handling the stolen gold. Its owner, a man called Matteo Constantino, was convicted in 1986. I walked through that way the other morning and noticed that the sign is still there!

---

@eburybooks
@penguinrandomhouse
@penguinukbooks
@bbciplayer

#thegold #brinksmat #truecrime #bbc #bbc1 #gold #truecrimebooks taken in London, United Kingdom by @thomas_a_turner

200

59

4 years ago

I bought this t-shirt 25 years ago at a @uruseiyatsuraband gig in Lincoln. It was a fun show. I was driving that night, so after the gig I took my friends home to Scunthorpe. When I finally got home, I think I noticed there was a news ticker on the telly but I was too tired to pay any attention and went to sleep. The following morning the news was that Princess Diana was dead. I don't have many things from the olden days that I can pinpoint to an exact moment but this is one of them. I had another Urusei t-shirt from a gig at the Leadmill that I actually preferred but that one is long gone now. Funnily enough, this is the only band t-shirt from the 90s that I kept. All hail Urusei Yatsura!

#uruseiyatsuraband #bandtee #bandtshirt #fruitoftheloom #90sband #indiemusic taken in Lincoln, Lincolnshire by @thomas_a_turner

59

7

4 years ago

Here's a Californian 1969 Porsche 912 Targa in Bahama Yellow I looked at recently 🌞

#noboringcarcolors #porsche912 taken in California by @thomas_a_turner

85

13

4 years ago