If Post-Balletcore Exists, It Probably Looks a Lot Like GANNI's Ballerina Sneaker
If Sambas and Speedcats have taught us anything at all, then it's that slender sneakers have long set up camp to live rent free in everyone's head; Miu Miu's, Nike's and Dries Van Noten's included.
However, it's a particular sub-species of slim shoe that's got those heads properly spinning: Up and down the price barometer, everyone from Yohji at Y-3 to Bad Bunny at adidas to Jonathan Anderson at LOEWE has been taking cues from ballet dancers.
Ballet-inspired shoes? "Hold my drink," said GANNI, and handed in what may just be a new favorite submission.
Akin to its contemporaries, GANNI's attempt goes for a snug silhouette, leaving very little to obscure the natural shape of the foot.
Unlike the rest, this half-open style stands as a more literal take on the trend, though its laces lend it a more sporty, casual quality. Swan Lake with a pinch of sneakerhead.
For the Danish brand to have captured momentum here should come as no surprise.
Their viral buckle sling backs and New Balance collabs positioned them at the forefront of what balletcore, babygirls, and a Mary Jane craze have long foreshadowed would be a broader streetwear-ification of ballerinas.
Rest assured, Sandy Liang's Salomons, Simone Rocha's Crocs, and Kiko Kostadinov's ASICS walked so some of these others could run.
But so, as for GANNI's part in the movement, the white and black versions of their sneaker-like ballerina hybrid are readily available, yet an upcoming site-exclusive drop is soon to add studded denim, leopard print, weathered brown, and glossy red variants to the family.
Now Nutcracker away, I say.
