Trend: How to wear the low-key plain trainer
Looking for a new pair of sneakers? Make sure you get it white...
With designers increasingly vying for sneaker supremacy of late, we have seen fashion houses resorting to gimmicks. From wild, bold and downright garish colours to ill-considered fabrics and materials, overkill has become the go-to get-out of the trainer designer.
But why step it up when you should pare it down? The plain trainer is a fashion staple and – thankfully – there are several designers who seem to be finally cottoning on to the fact that less really can be more.
After a long hiatus the iconic Stan Smith is back, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Updated for a modern taste while staying true to the look and shape of the original, these plain white kicks are the epitome of cool – and prove that the basic is best.
Saint Laurent’s contemporary take on the low-top sneaker perfectly illustrates how colours can be used to complement without overpowering. With a red touch at the heel and gold logo detailing at the tongue, these Court Classic sneakers are confident that their unadorned fine leather uppers and chunky rubber soles will carry the show – and they’re right.
Kurt Geiger’s new Kurtis Flta high tops have stepped back from the outlandish patterns of their previous Cassey line of high tops to bring us a refined, ice cool and plain white pair of shoes. The shoemakers are clearly confident that the design alone elevates this sneaker above the standard trainer, so have held off on throwing the colour chart at it.
Ermenegildo Zegna’s latest trainers are game-changers. In their search for simplicity, the Italian luxury fashion house have hidden the seamless cross-over elastic laces, and the resulting shoe is striking in its austerity. Crafted from fine smooth leather, these shoes – although seemingly determined to fade into the background – have come to the fore.
Armani’s new Croco Embossed trainers are everything you could ever want in a plain white trainer – but done impeccably well. Crafted with care from hardy leather and rubber, designed in an inoffensive yet stylish way and coloured in pure white, if the plain trainer is the epitome of simplicity, then this is the best of the best.
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