After all, the ancient Greeks didn't wear trainers to run the original marathon. Not so hard for their parents, who may still remember a time when daps served just as well, weren't scorned as totally "sad" and didn't cost a fortune. Impossible, perhaps, for this generation of teens, whose very identity can depend on what they have on their feet. Imagine a world without trainers. The Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, London SE1 (0171-378 6055).Stride is available from Offspring, 60 Neal Street, London WC2; Aspecto, 85 Bridge Street, Manchester; branches of Cobra Sports; branches of JD Sports and Hip, 9 & 14 Thorntons Arcade, Leeds.. Deakin is passionate about keeping them reasonably priced - and pounds 69.99 (or pounds 64.99 for the girls) is a small price to pay for an instant design classic.Stride will be on show at the Review Gallery at the Design Museum until August.

"I wish I'd bought more of them, they appeal to everyone: it's not a black thing or a gay thing, although both groups are buying them, it's a fashion and club thing."He is waiting for the red, white and blue variations on the current styles to come out next month, and will increase his order Until then, catch them if you can. Richard Wharton, from Offspring, a shop in Covent Garden dedicated to trainers, has been selling them for the past few weeks and watching them leave the shop in droves. mate".Stride is a complete design concept, from the brand name to the logo to the shoe, and it works. "They were crowding around the glass cabinets having a good look," says Atha.She is showing Stride alongside the ad campaign for the shoes, which features various styles in the context of greasy-spoon food: deep-fried with chips and peas, in a pie dish, or as boil-in-a-bag, with the catchline "put em on your plates ...

"It's brilliant, to get into the Design Museum you'd think it would take years." It has taken him months.On Thursday, the opening night of the Design Museum's latest exhibition, The Power of Erotic Design, many visitors strayed to the glass cabinets featuring Stride, and the Just Deakin/Inflate collaboration, the inflatable flip-flop. They recall 1960s TV shows with their names, for example Stealth and Stingray, and also act as containers for so many references."When Atha first approached Deakin, she told him "you're part of the trainer revolution" Deakin, however, still can't believe his luck. Christine Atha, curator of The Review Gallery, says, "The trainers are there as a contemporary idea, as well as a typical example of today's culture. "All we wanted to do was develop a new kind of footwear that used sports technology, but that people could wear every day," he says.The trainers are a visual feast, with references as diverse as Evel Knievel's Velcro-fastened motorcycling boots, to puffa jackets and work boots, as well as from mainstream trainers. He talks sole units, uppers, price points and construction with a broad Leeds accent and a jingle of his chunky silver jewellery. This is a designer who doesn't talk about ethereal creativity.