Hummel Sneakers
Sportswear brand Hummel (meaning ‘Bumblebee’ in German) was founded in 1923 by brothers Albert and Michael Messmer in Hamburg, Germany, originally starting with the production of the world’s first studded football boots.
Hummel faced hardship when during World War ll, their factory in Hamburg was bombed and mostly destroyed. Luckily investor Bernhard Weckenbrock took over the brand in 1956 and moved production to the town of Kevelaer. He also introduces the brand’s double chevron logo to symbolise its forward-thinking drive.
From this point onward, Hummel became more involved in the sport of handball, which increased awareness of the brand again. In the 1960s, Hummel began entering into major sponsorship contracts with European football clubs, staking their claim in the sports world.
In 1968, the first sponsorship deal is signed with Duisburg, a second division football team in Germany. In 1979, Hummel signs the Danish national team in a deal that lasts until 2004. 1988 saw deals signed with Real Madrid, and in 2019, Hummel became the official sponsor for the International Handball Federation. Most recently, in 2020, the brand entered a sponsorship with Everton F.C in the UK.
The brand has collaborated with numerous others, including AFEW on the Hummel Marathona runner silhouette (‘Stay Foolish’), designer Astrid Anderson on the Hummel Reach LX model, and Sneaker Banquet’s Pelle Kylsner on the Hummel Victory. In 2015, Japanese brand Atmos worked with Hummel on on the Marathona with fellow Japanese brand Mila Owen, and in 2016, released another highly anticipated collab on a Marathona with Overkill, which put Hummel on the map for many European sneakerheads.
In 2016 Hummel launched the HUMMEL HIVE project, offering new and updated collections based on the brand’s historical archive. Among others, it saw the comeback of the Minneapolis model in its OG form and colours.
Today Hummel produces apparel for numerous sports including football, handball, basketball, rugby, volleyball and more.
Generally, Hummel sneakers do fit true to size, but can sometimes run a little large, so you might want to size down half a size.