Influences on sneakers as a style item run the gamut from their origins as sportswear, all the way through to distinctive moments in music, movies and television. With an emphasis on practicality and comfort, they were quickly adopted as casual, everyday clothing by the public throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Designers quickly caught onto the trend, integrating streetwear into their collections. Sleek, aerodynamic and versatile, a plain, unembellished sneaker provided the ideal blank canvas upon which well-known fashion houses could create some of their most influential sneaker designs.
Today, sneakers can be found at a range of outlets, including reps shoes companies offering imitation versions of trending shoes at comparatively affordable prices. Their popularity can be traced back to the creativity of fashion brands, some of whose sneaker designs are among the most notable in fashion history.
1. Vivienne Westwood’s Three Tongue Trainer
The idea that rules are made to be broken was epitomized by British designer and punk icon, Vivienne Westwood, and her three-tongue sneaker, introduced as part of the 1983/84 “Witches” collection was no exception. Inspired by pirate boots, the shoe is thought to be the first sneaker to debut at a fashion show.
2. Prada’s PS0906: “America’s Cup”
The PS0906 sneaker was the brainchild of yacht designer Gérman Frers, who in 1997 was tasked with creating a shoe for Prada co-chief executive officer and sailing enthusiast Patrizio Bertelli for the 2000 America’s Cup challenge (the origin of its later nickname). The sleek, minimal design debuted in SS99, spawning various iterations including a high-top and velcro version.
3. Rick Owens’ Geobasket Boot
The Geobasket was created in 2006 with an unusual premise: Rick Owens’ desire to create a “monster truck” shoe. While sneaker design is usually associated with color, Owen’s pared-back, darker palette draws focus to form instead: an avant-garde, high-top profile featuring an oversized tongue and a chunky, elevated sole.
4. Isabel Marant’s Wedge Sneaker
Isabel Marant’s Bekett wedge was arguably one of the more divisive fashion moments of the 2010s. Combining a running shoe with a stylishly impractical wedge heel may have been confusing to some, but elsewhere it drew a loyal fan base including Rhianna and Béyonce, who wore them in the video for her 2011 single, “Love On Top”.
5. Christian Louboutin’s Rollerboy Sneaker
The 2010s featured another hybrid sneaker, this time in the form of a studded brogue merged with a skate shoe. Typically known for making red-soled stilettos, the Rollerboy (a sportier re-imagining of the more formal rollerboy loafer) signalled Louboutin’s shift toward more gender-inclusive approaches to fashion, complete with his signature red sole.
6. Balenciaga’s Triple S
In 2017, the Triple S took hybrid trainers to the next level – quite literally, owing to its platform sole and chunky profile. After Phoebe Philo famously sported a pair of understated Stan Smiths at Céline in 2010, the Triple S offered the maximalist version of the “normcore” trend dominating the decade: a hiking boot and running shoe crossover in a bold colorway.
7. Comme Des Garçons X Salomon Embellished Sneaker
At the SS/24 Paris Fashion Week, Rei Kawakubo’s embellished sneaker took the “more is more” ethos a step further, Branding tends to feature heavily in sneaker design, but in this case, Kawakubo’s wild, whimsical confection of beads and gems on a technicolor platform sole spoke for itself.