With a keen eye for fashion — more specifically, sneakers and streetwear in India — Hypebeast Karan Khatri’s YouTube channel can tempt you to give your shoe-drobe an overhaul. “It started with the most accessible hyped sneakers and slowly I converted the collection into only the top most desirable sneakers I wanted to own. So, my collection is more about quality than quantity,” says Khatri, partner, Mainstreet India, a premier street fashion platform that came into being in 2017, and is a favorite among lovers of sneakers and streetwear in the country. At 76.3k followers and counting on IG, Khatri’s social media is reflective of his innate passion for creating meaningful content that drops graspable insights into the rapidly evolving Hypebeast culture, peppered with tricks, tips, guides, unboxing, reviews, and more. We dig deeper into the entrepreneur’s stunning shoe closet and all things sneakers.  

Describe your obsession with shoes in 3 words.  
Race. Expression. Value.  

How many pieces are there in your collection? 
It’s a very dynamic collection so I can’t really tell how many, but what I can say is I always buy the latest/most hyped and trending sneakers even if they do not come to India.  

Your last 2 shoe purchases were? 
  Air Jordan 1 Low x Travis Scott Black Phantom and the Nike SB Dunk Low x Concepts Orange Lobster. 

One pair you can’t seem to get enough of right now? 
Definitely, my Balmain Unicorn low-top sneakers. 

What’s your most-worn shoe, and why? 
Air Jordan 1 Low men’s shoes as work wear and Balmain leather B-Bold low-top sneakers for outings. That’s because the Air Jordan 1 Lows are the easiest to slip into, and also the Black Phantom Travis Scott ones are all black so I don’t need to put much effort into my outfits. Talking about Balmain B-Bold, I feel they match my personality and I like wearing all-black whenever I go out other than for work, so it adds just the right amount of glam to my otherwise simple outfits.  

A footwear faux pas that men need to stop in 2023? 
Birkenstocks.  

A celebrity you’d love to go shoe shopping with? 
Most definitely, Ranbir Kapoor.  

Three kinds of shoes every man needs in his shoe closet. 
All-white sneakers, Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG men’s shoes, and a pair from Yeezy.  

Three shoe brands you can’t live without.  
Balmain, Nike, and Adidas. 

A footwear trend you can get behind.  
Dad shoes trend. For example, the Yeezy 700s. 

A footwear trend that doesn’t have your support. 
Slides. 

What can a person’s choice of footwear say about them? 
It can show how particular someone is, depending on the choice of footwear and also their attention to detail. Like, how sharp or laid back they are.  

You’re traveling for a week-long holiday. What kind of footwear do you pack? 
50% of my luggage is my current top sneakers.