That Famous Dries Van Noten Sneaker Turned Into a Leather Sock
It took almost 40 years for Dries Van Noten to make an “It Sneaker.” Not that he was cared enough about trends to try. But in the penultimate collection while at the helm of his fashion house, the Belgian designer debuted the “Suede Sneaker,” a shoe as straightforward as it sounds. It’s suede, it’s a sneaker, and its shape is consistent with running shoes from the ‘70s, like all good contemporary “It Shoes.”
As quotidian as it sounds, the shoe is a stroke of genius, the perfect distillation of modern taste and classic styling.
Dries’ new shoe became the single best post-Samba sneaker, with the Lyst Index ranking it among the world’s hottest products.
Julian Klausner, the new head of Dries Van Noten, has since put his spin on the hit sneaker but his newest revelation was to simply make it even simpler.
Klausner hasn’t added anything to the sneaker of the moment. Instead, he took a lot away.
Available at Dries Van Noten stockists for $675, the new Suede Sneaker is offered without its sidestripe, T-shaped toebox, or even the trimmed leather zigzagging around the laces.
This is as back-to-basics as an already basic sneaker can be. It’s almost nothing except calf suede and cotton laces.
But like the original Suede Sneaker, this radically plain shoe has its finger on the pulse. Fashion is currently engulfed in a wave of ultra-refined footwear, as evidenced by Our Legacy’s Sneak In shoe constantly selling out and the latest low-cut releases from everyone from Y-3 to Wales Bonner, the mastermind behind the Samba’s popularity.
Dries Van Noten already helped popularize the flat designer shoe. Now, it’s saying it’s time to go even sleeker.
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