NEW WAVE OF SNEAKERS

new wave of sneakers is a summary of what the fashion world has been up to recently. enter the high fashion sneaker!

do you remember how isabel marant had a huge hit with her wedge sneakers a few years ago, right? and do you remember how i was signalling that sports shoes had become totally acceptable as part of a fashionable outfit? well, ever since, there has been a plot twist. every brand out there is struggling now to get sneaker market share away from the sports brands. and every fashionista is wearing now shoes she wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing a few years ago. lol!

big fashion brands have been dabbling with sneaker-type shoes for a while now. 10 or 15 years ago, there were just gucci, lanvin and prada. and now, there is nobody left without fingers in the sneaker pie.

there are many collaborations that did great and there are designers who do original models for their own brands. i have a list below but it’s neither comprehensive nor a top. you are welcome to add whomever i missed in the comments. thank you!

y-3 is the name under which yohji yamamoto has been working with adidas.

jeremy scott collaboration with adidas has been a blast! i’m sure you remember the winged high tops as well as the teddy bear heads.

even parisian concept store colette did their own pair of stan smiths.

rick owens does his own styles but he also worked with adidas at some point.

raf simons has his own ongoing collaboration with adidas.

phoebe philo may love her white stan smiths, but she brought vans back in the limelight.

reebok’s revived insta fury styles have been doing great in asia. i’d like my own all-black pair, please!

ricardo tisci collaborated with nike but he does original styles for givenchy as well.

and, although he is not one of my favourites, i cannot leave out kanye. he did sneaks with louis vuitton, nike, adidas and now margiela.

at saint laurent, hedi is doing classical, clean models.

any major fails, you wonder? i count dior and chanel. they both sent girls on the runaway wearing bejeweled sneakers during their latest haute couture shows. the pieces were forced and decidedly uncool.