K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles, California, by two Swiss brothers who became interested in tennis after immigrating to the United States, where they introduced the first leather tennis shoes.

 

In the 1990s, Steven Nichols boosted K-Swiss's marketing budget and hired a number of key individuals from large companies such as Procter and Gamble and began a large marketing blitz around the K-Swiss brand. Due to advertising campaigns (primarily one where K-Swiss encourages users to personalize the trademark stripes under the slogan "Put Your Spin on It"), K-Swiss's popularity has risen immensely in recent years. K-Swiss shoes are popular not only for their style, but also for their comfort. The brand has been one of the leaders in interactive footwear with the introduction of their successful color changing K-Swiss Tongue Twister in 2003, Stripe Shifter and most recently their Band Em footwear styles.