Are High-Heeled Sneakers Fashion's Next Ugly 'It' Shoe?
From foam clogs to cork sandals to flip flops, "ugly shoes" have steadily taken over fashion, proving that even the frumpiest of footwear can be rehabilitated as a style statement.
But can high-heeled sneakers — a silhouette luxury labels have experimented with over the years, with limited success — join the likes of Crocs, Birkenstocks, and Havaianas and make the crossover from faux pas to fashion?
Signs of the heeled sneaker comeback began emerging in 2021, when Isabel Marant relaunched its famous wedge sneaker, a style sported by nearly every celebrity and off-duty model during the mid-2000s.
Then came Comme des Garçons' Fall/Winter 2021 Nike collaboration, a kitten-heeled take on the footwear giant's Tiempo Premier football boot.
Other recent experimentations with the style include Balenciaga's X-Pander stiletto sneaker, Converse's chunky Chuck 70 boots, and Ancuta Sarca's upcycled sneaker-heels.
While these examples have all garnered their fair share of headlines, heeled sneakers have yet to become a full-fledged trend. But that might be about to change.
Last week, Spanx founder Sara Blakely announced her new venture: Sneex, a line of — you guessed it — high-heeled sneakers that start at $395. “I own stilettos and I own sneakers already, but I don’t own the combination of the two," Blakely said in an interview with Vogue. "As a consumer I wanted the combination of the two."
While the brand has elicited mix reactions online, Blakely might be on to something.
On Monday, GANNI and New Balance unveiled their new collaboration, a leopard-spotted version of the T500. Supplementing the drop, the two brands also recruited four emerging artists — MASCULINA, Bonnetje, Camilla Skov, and Ojuna Njama Petersen — to create their own interpretation of the shoe, a project that resulted in two sneaker-heel hybrids.
Two years ago, we reported on the slow but steady rise of high-heeled sneakers. With the coincidence of Blakely's controversial launch and GANNI x New Balance's artist-created sneaker-heels, it seems the stage is finally set for the trend to go big.
Fashion Month, your move.
