OLDORDER launched in 2019 with a narrow thesis: China’s streetwear scene had plenty of graphic tees and hoodies, but no homegrown sneaker brand building original silhouettes from scratch. The founders set out to change that by designing shoes rooted in skate culture, manufactured to a standard that could hold up against established players. The brand’s name signals its allegiance: old-school craft applied to new forms.

The bet paid off in 2021 when the SKATER/001, OLDORDER’s first fully original sneaker, broke sales records across Chinese fashion sneaker platforms. The shoe’s formula was specific: full-grain leather upper, oversized embossed logo on the side panel, vulcanized rubber sole with a non-slip tread pattern. It hit a sweet spot for a generation that wanted something between a Nike Dunk and a vintage German Army Trainer. Celebrity adoption followed, but the shoe had already proven itself on sales charts before the press caught up.

OLDORDER builds its catalog around three pillars. The SKATER line carries the brand’s heritage: clean, low-profile silhouettes inspired by 1980s and 1990s skate shoes, constructed from premium leather and suede with 3D logo detailing. The Turbo GT borrows from 2000s running shoe aesthetics with hand-sewn microfiber leather, BK mesh lining, Ortholite footbeds, and a distinctive chunky “O”-shaped sole unit that looks retro-futurist without being bulky. The Turbo Lite strips that formula down: lighter, lower, available in over a dozen colorways from Copper Brown to Silver Metallic to Scarlet Red.

Beyond footwear, OLDORDER produces canvas shoes under its Big Head sub-line and collaborative OCAI label, plus a small range of accessories. But sneakers remain the core. Every other category exists in orbit around the shoes.

Collaborations have extended OLDORDER’s reach. The Li-Ning partnership brought credibility from China’s biggest sportswear house. Sanrio licensing (Hello Kitty and Kuromi characters on chunky sole platforms) produced the viral “Kitty shoes” that circulated across Y2K fashion accounts and TikTok haul videos, introducing the brand to audiences who had never heard of Guangzhou streetwear. Joint releases with STA, Ground Zero, Ann Andelman, AFGK, and Supbro kept the brand visible across different pockets of the Chinese independent fashion ecosystem.

In 2022, OLDORDER opened its first physical retail space in Dongshankou, Guangzhou, the creative district that also houses studios and showrooms for labels like Attempt and Roaringwild. Over a thousand people attended the opening. For a brand that started as a DTC sneaker operation, the store represented a shift toward community infrastructure: a place to try shoes on, attend events, and encounter the product outside of a feed.