The Brand:
Founded in 1980 by Jack Schwartz Shoes Incorporated, a New York City based sports footwear wholesaler. The first line of their sneakers was released in 1986 in the United States and later made their debut in the UK market during 1989. The company’s goal was to introduce fashionable sneakers that weren’t based strictly on their performance, specifically to the urban market.
Later, Dymacel, a performance-based technology, was introduced in the brand’s sneakers. while this went against British Knights’ original focus of skirting away from developing performance-based sneakers, the addition was deemed as necessary in order to compete with the “Nike Air,” "Puma Disc" and "Reebok Pump" technologies. Dymacel consisted of diamond shaped green silicon cushioning embedded within a sole window. Shoes were also accompanied with a lenticular tag intended to hang off the laces.
History:
British Knights sponsored early 1990s rap legend MC Hammer and made commercials featuring the rapper wearing the company’s shoes. The commercials were made specifically for MTV but the campaign became quite popular that media buys were made on other networks as well.
It is rumored that the brand was popular amongst the Crips street gang, who wore the sneakers and adapted the "BK" logo to mean "Blood Killer," referencing their rival gang.
Today:
The brand remains focused on their urban street roots. Their current designs consist almost entirely of slip-ons and high tops that are canvas based. The designs are being targeted towards the skateboarding and extreme-sports crowd.
The distribution for the brand has also changed. Currently, the shoes are being marketed and sold only in Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, South Africa, Thailand and New Zealand.
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