Celebrating 60 Years of K-Swiss

Sixty years. Countless matches. More than a few unforgettable shoes.

In 1966, two Swiss brothers arrived in Southern California with an idea for a better tennis shoe. Six decades later, K-Swiss is celebrating an anniversary that spans generations of players, footwear fans, cultural moments, and five very recognizable stripes.

The K-Swiss 60th Anniversary is a chance to look back, but it’s hardly a victory lap. Throughout 2026, K-Swiss has brought its history into the present with new products, professional tennis, cultural collaborations, and an anniversary celebration that took the story beyond the store and into New York's streets.

After all, you only turn 60 once.

60 Years of K-Swiss

The K-Swiss story begins with Art and Ernie Brunner.

The brothers founded the company in Southern California in 1966, inspired by the supportive construction of leather ski boots to create footwear suited to the aggressive side-to-side movement of tennis. The result was the K-Swiss Classic, the world's first all-leather tennis sneaker, distinguished by its five stripes, three-piece toe, and D-ring lacing system. 

It proved to have staying power.

For its first 20 years, the Classic remained the brand's singular icon. Then came the GSTAAD in 1986, followed by decades of new performance technologies, silhouettes, athletes, and cultural moments. K-Swiss won Footwear News Company of the Year in 1990. The SI-18 International was named Shoe of the Year in 1992. By the early 2000s, the “I Wear My K-Swiss” campaign was all over MTV, helping turn the brand's court heritage into a streetwear staple. 

Through every era, tennis remained the through line.

As Brand President Barney Waters reflected on the milestone, staying relevant through changing performance and lifestyle trends is difficult enough. Doing it for six decades is something else entirely—and a reason to recognize the teammates, customers, partners, retailers, and athletes who have been part of the journey. 

So K-Swiss decided 60 deserved more than a cake.

Taking the Celebration Beyond the Store

For the anniversary, K-Swiss brought the celebration directly to New York during one of the biggest moments of the tennis calendar.

A mobile K-Swiss truck took the brand on the road, creating a traveling anniversary experience that brought together footwear, tennis, style, and the people who have helped shape the brand's identity.

The truck made multiple stops throughout the city, including Paragon and Times Square, turning the K-Swiss anniversary collection into something fans could experience beyond a traditional retail environment. The campaign also featured appearances and content from athletes and cultural collaborators, including Anwar Carrots and Rakeem Miles.

That approach feels particularly fitting for a brand whose identity has never belonged exclusively to the tennis court.

K-Swiss heritage has moved between sport and style for decades. Bringing the anniversary onto the streets let fans interact with that history where it has always lived: out in the world, being worn.

Inside the 60th Anniversary Activation

The celebration extended well beyond the truck.

The K-Swiss House became another anniversary hub, hosting athletes, brand personalities, and content throughout the campaign. Tomás Martín Etcheverry gave fans a walk-through of the space, while fellow K-Swiss athletes Liudmila Samsonova and Thiago Tirante appeared in their own social content. 

There were playful moments, too, including “Serve or Swerve,” alongside athlete tributes and appearances from the wider K-Swiss creative community.

And because no 60th birthday should end quietly, K-Swiss capped the festivities with an anniversary party, documented through event photography and a full campaign recap. Taste of Tennis and media-day programming added even more touchpoints around the celebration. 

Taken together, the activation became a snapshot of what K-Swiss looks like at 60: professional athletes next to cultural creators, archival history alongside current product, and tennis connecting it all.

Not bad for a brand that started with one shoe.

The Shoes Behind the Story

Sixty years of K-Swiss history is a lot to fit into one collection. So the 60th Anniversary lineup does something more interesting: it lets different eras tell the story.

The KSRC 60th Anniversary collection brings together five silhouettes spanning the K-Swiss archive and present day: the Before the Classic 60th, Konejo 60th, Classic 66 NXT 60th, GSTAAD 60th, and Hypercourt Express 3 60th. Together, they trace a line from the brand's earliest tennis roots to today's performance footwear. 

The Classic 66 NXT 60th puts a celebratory spin on the shoe that started it all, pairing a clean white upper with red-and-blue accents and mismatched color blocking across the left and right shoes. The GSTAAD 60th revisits the second silhouette in K-Swiss history, originally introduced in 1986, in premium white leather.

The Konejo and Before the Classic bring two more chapters of the archive into the mix, while the Hypercourt Express 3 60th carries the celebration onto today's court.

Though they come from different eras, the five styles speak the same anniversary language. Each is reimagined in the signature K-Swiss white, red, and blue palette, finished with a commemorative gold K-Swiss charm, and presented in a special-edition gold anniversary box.

Five shoes. Six decades. One story that’s still moving forward.

Six decades after the Classic first stepped onto the court, K-Swiss is still doing what it has always done best: finding new ways to bring tennis performance, California style, and culture together.

The shoes have changed. The game has changed. The five stripes are still right where they belong.

Here’s to 60 years of K-Swiss—and whatever comes next.