Over at the Oakland Museum of California, a new exhibit tracks the phenomenon of sneakers as fashion items and design objects. It's called Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture and features 140 rare examples of high-design sneakers — and this recalls a similar exhibit SFMOMA did 16 years ago which specifically covered the rise of high fashion sneakers between 1995 and 2000.

As the New York Times notes, the new exhibit was organized by the Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto, and reaches all the way back to the first half of the 19th Century with some of the earliest precursors to athletic shoes.

From the Oakland Museum:

Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture chronicles how sneakers have evolved into a cultural force in fashion and self-expression. See over 140 rare and iconic shoes from renowned collections and designers, including Louis Vuitton, Pierre Hardy, Nike, Christian Louboutin, Adidas, Reebok, and more.

The exhibit runs through April 2, and here are the museum's holiday hours for the coming week.