Sneaker collaborators literally only want one thing and it's to wear a single color at a time.
Irrespective of brand, season, designer, and shoe, monochromatic sneaker collabs are dropping by the shelf-load, all of a sudden. It's like Skittles started dictating the sneaker market, though maybe a tad less colorful than your average bag o' candy.
Seriously, just count 'em: there are the rainbow-shaded adidas Sambas cooked up by Pharrell's Humanrace; Supreme's brown Nike Air Force 1, A-COLD-WALL*'s green and navy Converse Chucks; Joe Freshgoods' beige New Balance 650; JJJJound's black nubuck Reebok Classic Club.
Why not add in Wales Bonner's metallic silver adidas Sambas, while we're at it, 'cuz silver's a color, yeah? Maybe all those Crocs collabs, too.
Now, yes, monochromatic shoes are nothing entirely new — we've been seeing high-profile one-color shoes since the day of the Air YEEZY Red October and Maison Margiela's yellow GAT sneaker — but there are suddenly so many recent examples, for some reason.
Note that I'm not even talking about the collaborative shoes that merely wear tonal uppers, like Rich Paul's lovely mauve New Balance 550s nor are we discussing perpetually ubiquitous all-white or all-black shoes, aside from the JJJJound x Reebok joints and even then only 'cuz JJJJound usually only designs shoes in white or shades of beige.
And, admittedly, this monochromatic can be seen influencing the design mainline shoes, as epitomized by Nike's very Off-White™-like gold Air Force 1s. But it's pretty common for sneaker companies to issue one-tone shoes so, I digress.
The two unifying factors connecting all of these shoes that I am focusing on is that they're all collaborations and they all wear matching colors on their uppers, tongues, soles, and, usually, laces. Otherwise, material, shape, and hue vary wildly.
See, it's not just interesting that there's this tsunami of one-tone shoes but that single-color shoes are emerging as a byproduct of collaboration between a third-party designer and a sneaker company with unusual frequency.
Like I've said before, the sneaker business demands that everything be designed with months of lead-time.
Given that and the back-and-forth between design teams and factories — you know, as as samples are developed, textiles refined, shapes dialed-in — it's not at all like any of the aforementioned designers are cribbing off of each other's moodboards or playing follow the leader.
Instead, I see these myriad monochrome sneakers as indicative of unspoken inspiration inadvertently shared between collaborators. Maybe it's something in the air or maybe it's a unified reaction to an overarching societal shift.
You could make the case that all of these monochrome sneakers have come into being as a byproduct of the — gulp — quiet luxury boom, to some extent. Yes, seriously.
With stealth wealth renewing widespread interest in simple shapes that speak for themselves, you see, footwear designers may be more inclined to emphasize the things that often go undersung. These monochromatic sneaker collabs eschew color nuance by going monochrome, in turn underscoring the shoes' shape and fabrication.
Returning to JJJJound's forthcoming Reebok collaboration, that shoe's blacked-out façade emphasizes its washed-out nubuck upper. This draws attention towards the sneaker's material intrigue all subtle-like, encouraging the viewer's brain to subconsciously take note of the silhouette as one complete shape, rather than various different panels.
Oh, yeah, we're getting all pop psychology on a black shoe.
Perhaps there's a widespread shift in taste, a yen for directness derived from quiet luxury's appeal to ease. Single-shade shoes are uncomplicated, even when realized in poppy pinks and yellows.
Plus, that several of the aforementioned collaborations center around adidas' Samba, still the shoe of the moment, is no accident.
The Samba has broad appeal because it's innately approachable. A one-tone Samba is both extra approachable (because color, depth, and detail are removed from the equation) but also a statement, Superflat pop art for the foot.
Like quiet luxury itself, all of these monochromatic sneaker collaborations do speak to a desire for ease, for effortlessness, for getting dressed without thinking. They're a blunt balm to color theory.
Or maybe all of these designers are just catering to color-deficient folks like me. If so, hey, many thanks!
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