Running out of road: Trainers are over, so what can you wear instead?
What did we wear before trainers? The mass casualisation of fashion has permeated every corner of the high street and designer boutiques, and while you may not have bought into the athleisure trend in its entirety (personally, I only wear Lycra to the gym), few resisted the lure of the trainer.
First the adidas Stan Smith, then the designer skate shoe (championed by Phoebe Philo at Céline), the logoed trainer, the jewel encrusted, the chunky (and therefore calf-flattering) ‘ugly’ allterrain trainer, and so on.
But scanning the front rows in Milan was telling. Last season, eight of every 10 pairs of feet were clad in trainers: this season they were suddenly — pfft! — absent. As Stefano Gabbana put it ahead of his show, “streetwear is dead”. He might be overselling it — there’s still a huge market for trainers, and I’m not suggesting you park them altogether.
But dressing up is making a comeback, and the first step is a shoe without go-faster stripes or an all-terrain sole.
It’s time to add a few more options to your shoedrobe — and retraining your now-wider feet to fit into them.
Firstly, the as-comfortableas-a-trainer options. During London Fashion Week, the hiking boot was the showgoers’ shoe of choice — thanks to Holly Willoughby’s jungle endorsement, Grenson’s Nanette style keeps selling out (and, thankfully, being restocked — €310, grenson.com).
If box-fresh white trainers are your default, white shoes offer the same outfit-brightening possibilities. White boots divide opinion — my dislike for them was reinforced in Milan, where the ankle variety was prevalent-verging-on-ubiquitous on the front row, while others are avowedly pro.
White shoes, like Viktoria Rader’s pointed-toe pumps (try
aeyde.com for similar styles), seem a good compromise to eliminate the problem of a block of white visually widening the ankle.
If you can be tempted back into a heel, kittens are walkable and the kitten heel ankle or knee boot (loose-fitting around the calf ) are chic transeasonal options. Block-heel slingbacks were another trend on the front row; the best iterations had contrasting toes and came from Chanel and Prada, but Uterque has a lovely white pair with black toe/heel for €116 ( uterque.com) and By Far does great singlecolour options around the €360 mark ( byfar.com).
While we’re enjoying summer in February, you might consider getting your sandal purchase in early. At the Oscars, Frances McDormand wore custom-made Birkenstock x Valentino sulphur yellow suede sandals with her pink Valentino gown. That designer collaboration — offsetting any lingering mung-bean associations — will make the Birk the only sandal to wear this summer. Easily as comfortable as a trainer, right?
Last season, eight out of every 10 pairs of feet were clad in trainers: this season they were suddenly – pfft! – absent