There’s no question that Nike has revolutionized shoes, or at least athletic shoes. We don’t really know how far their influence reaches into the general world of shoes.
And it’s not just footwear. Because shoes are so much lighter and so structurally sound, things that used to be difficult or impossible no longer are.
Consider when you see a You Tube Gold on DBR from the 1960s that all those players were wearing Chuck Taylors and Chuck Taylors are awful shoes for an athlete. They can’t absorb shock, they’re thin and flat and offer no meaningful support.