Good News: 2025's Sneakers Will Stay Flat. Weird News: They're Boxing-Ready
According to the Spring/Summer 2025 collections, sneakers are still flat as ever, but they are also ready for a good sparring.
Boxing shoes have entered the fashion ring, with the unmistakably tall sports shoes (still wearing flat soles) gracing several SS25 catwalks.
Boxing shoes are distinguished by their low-soled look and knee-high lace systems. The design supports fighters' ankles and allows for quick shuffling across the mat. Boxing shoes are designed to, yes, help you float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, as Ali said.
It wasn't hard to miss the classic boxing shoe at runway shows like Dior, where a sporty fashion buffet included clothes fit for Olympic shooter Kim Yeji and long, breezy boots appropriate for fashion-obsessed fighters.
LOEWE also advanced the boxing craze during its SS25 presentation with its own luxury boxing shoe. Creative director Jonathan Anderson also debuted an SL 72-adjacent retro-style running sneaker, demonstrating the versatility of sporty, flat shoes.
Speaking of adidas, the Three Stripes has a significant hand in 2025's boxing shoe movement. The brand recently dropped new versions of the Japan VH shoe, a big boxing boot inspired by its low-rise training sneaker from the 1960s.
The adidas Japan VH even made its runway debut at Caroline Hu's flowery SS25 presentation mere days after LOEWE. The designer reimagined the adidas boxing shoe with floral embroidery, lace, and all-over bow embellishments.
Meanwhile, Stella McCartney both advanced her friendship with adidas and the boxing shoe trend for her SS25 show. The presentation included several performance-style boots, like the new Rasant trainer collaboration, with shoelaces extending up to the knees and ground-level soles.
McCartney even took the whole boxing aesthetic further with her seasonal apparel, with oversized hooded jackets and roomy mesh shorts that brought extra Rocky Balboa energy to the mix.
Fashion has already started borrowing from boxing (and vice versa), as seen previously with F1 and football.
Earlier this year, pro boxer Devin Haney has brought custom Rick Owens and Fear of God 'fits to the mat.
Streetwear labels like Patta and Human Made have been pushing boxing shorts for at least a year while designers like Yuhan Wang are pushing hardwearing boxing clothes into elegantly fresh terrain, yielding silky gloves and sexy lace-swaddled headgear.
Boxing shoes are but one layer of the trend's cake.
Boxing gear, in general, is becoming the next sports fashion moment on the runways and in street style.
After tapping into skater boi and ballerina aesthetics, fashion is saying that it's time to start dressing like boxers, from the ground up.
