It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when high fashion and sneakers were mutually exclusive. It wasn’t until Gucci launched a tennis shoe in 1984 that this started to change and the lines between them began to blur.
Forty years later, we find ourselves in a world where sneakers are best-selling products for many of the OG European fashion houses. High fashion’s adoption of sportier footwear styles ushered in a new era for both – the historically stuffy and highly strung world of haute couture began to relax, and its designers helped to push sneakers into weird and exciting new territory with maximalist styling and unconventional materials.
The relationship between the two has led to some hugely influential designs over the years, and we’ve rounded up a few of them below. These are shoes we feel have helped to shape and define the current high-fashion footwear landscape, and whether you love them or hate them, they’re now a key part of modern menswear that appears to be here to stay.
Common Projects Achilles Low
What is there to say about the Common Projects Achilles Low that hasn’t already been said a thousand times? You know the score by now – this shoe completely flipped the script on what a sneaker could be.
It altered the perception of athletic-inspired footwear by using production techniques and materials previously reserved for handmade dress shoes. This blurred the line between smart and casual and spawned a new breed of minimal, luxe leather sneakers that could be worn with anything from T-shirts to tailoring.
Shop now at SSENSE
Balenciaga Triple S
The Triple S is the Yin to the Achilles Low’s Yang. It’s big, bold, loud, brash and unapologetic, and it was one of the shoes at the forefront of the chunky sneaker trend that dominated much of the late 2010s.
The shoe is the combined work of Balenciaga creative director and notorious aesthetic loon Demna Gvasalia, and accomplished high-fashion footwear designer David Tourniaire-Beauciel. The name comes from the fact that it’s actually three shoes in one, having been crafted using moulds from a running shoe, a basketball shoe and a track shoe.
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Raf Simons x Adidas Ozweego
Without Raf Simons’ maximalist spin on the Adidas Ozweego, the Balenciaga Triple S may never have existed. This was the original ‘ugly’ sneaker, complete with oversized sole, OTT details and a big bulky silhouette to boot.
In the current context, it probably doesn’t look all that remarkable, but at the time, it was groundbreaking. It cut through the sea of minimalist white leather kicks that dominated the footwear world in the early to mid-2010s and offered something completely fresh.
Shop now at StockX
Comme des Garcons PLAY x Converse Chuck Taylor All Star ‘70
The CDG Chuck may not be particularly groundbreaking, but therein lies its success. It’s a simple shoe at a relatively accessible price point that allows people to buy into one of the most influential labels in modern fashion.
Launched in the mid-2010s, the shoe is now ubiquitous, easily spotted in any town or city on any given day. We’d go as far as to estimate that it’s the most popular ‘fashion’ sneaker of the past decade, largely due to its versatility and wallet-friendly price tag.
Shop now at END.
Maison Margiela Replica
Based on a traditional German army trainer, the Margiela Replica is a beautiful stripped-back sneaker which uses premium suede and leather to elevate the silhouette far above and beyond its utilitarian roots.
It’s simple yet elegant, but if the understated styling isn’t to your liking, you could ditch the plain colours in favour of one of the more eye-catching paint-splatter options.
Shop now at Farfetch
Gucci Ace
The Ace is Gucci’s take on minimalist white leather sneakers. It’s a simple round-toe court shoe featuring Gucci’s iconic red and green stripe to the side, shiny red and green heel panels and often some embroidered design to either side.
The only downside is the £600 price tag.
Shop now at MR PORTER
Rick Owens Geobasket
The Lord of Darkness has made many shoes over his decades-long career, but the Geobasket remains his most celebrated. It’s a chunky high-top silhouette that takes its design cues from the basketball court.
Owens pulled elements from brands like Adidas, Nike and Puma to create his footwear magnum opus, attempting to make “monster trucks for his feet”.
Shop now at Farfetch
Alexander McQueen Oversized Sneaker
The 2010s footwear fashion can be divided into two key trends: stripped-back, low-profile, white leather court shoes and big, over-the-top, maximalist beetle crushers. The genius of this now-iconic Alexander McQueen design is that it blends these two fundamentally disparate styles to make something completely unique.
In short, it’s a minimalist shoe with a maximalist silhouette, which makes absolutely zero sense on paper, but the sales figures speak for themselves.
Shop now at MR PORTER
Hender Scheme MIP-10
Hender Scheme is a Japanese footwear brand founded by designer Ryo Kashiwazaki. It reimagines classic silhouettes in super-premium materials using high-end construction techniques, often finishing them in the brand’s signature nude colourway.
This upscale twist on the Jordan 4 is one of Hender Scheme’s most popular releases, but you’ll have to spend more than £700 to own a pair.
Shop now at StockX
Balenciaga Speed Sock
Stretchy sock-like trainers had a brief moment of popularity a few years back, and Balenciaga’s Speed Sock is one of the only shoes that managed to come out the other end of it and remain popular.
It’s a mid-top knitted sneaker that slips on like a sock and has a sporty rubber sole for traction. This instantly recognisable, if somewhat divisive, design remains a key part of the Spanish brand’s footwear collection and will no doubt be around for a long time yet to come.
Shop now at MR PORTER
