The HOKA Loafer Was Wild. The HOKA Mary Jane... Actually Makes Sense
HOKA's sneaker-loafer, the Speed Loafer, was a wild hybrid that felt both of the moment and utterly alien. HOKA's Bondi Mary Jane, however, feels... quite fitting.
Though imagery of the HOKA Bondi Mary Jane has been floating around online for several weeks, the HOKA Mary Jane made its debut proper at Tanner Fletcher's Spring/Summer 2026 runway show during New York Fashion Week.
It fit the vibe, to be sure, but the Bondi Mary Jane is also just a surprisingly solid shoe.
Tanner Fletcher's fluid approach to the wardrobe kitchen-sinks all aspects of delicate dressing, proposing frilly collars, lace-trimmed tracksuits, belted briefs, and generous blouses for all bodies. The HOKA Bondi Mary Jane was only one of several shoes that anchored the affair but its appeal reaches even beyond.
Simply, you put a slight lace structure atop a thick HOKA sole and you've got a contrast that simply works.
The sole unit is based on the layered squish innate to HOKA's Bondi running shoe series but that upper is pure prep-school, a barely-there leather forefoot section that's superseded by extra-long laces that may be secured directly to the foot.
That's all classic Mary Jane fare, really. Even the thickened sole isn't entirely new to this style of shoe — Mary Jane has been there, done it all.
But the HOKA difference is twofold. For one, there's a clever bungee cord built into the shoe's ankle opening that allows the wearer to tighten the fit around, rather than on top of, the foot. This at least slightly circumvents the need for laces, possibly allowing the Bondi Mary Jane to be reborn as a semi-dressy slip-on akin to the Speed Loafer.
And then, there's the colorways. The red and white Bondi Mary Jane is typically sporty fare but the all-black look is vintage HOKA. Due to the sheer scale of the brand's shoes, they often look best in single, muted tones that emphasize the form over the function.
The Bondi Mary Jane, which sees wider release on October 1, is no different. Even more streamlined than the Speed Loafer, HOKA's Mary Jane both makes no bones about its influences and thus lives between worlds, not quite HOKA nor Mary Jane but a fresh hybrid of both.
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