According to a recent Forbes Sneakernomics column, performance sneakers are experiencing a decline in sales, edged out by their lifestyle-oriented counterparts. This shift away from athletic silhouettes is most visible when it comes to the running category, with low-tech running shoes cornering over 30 percent of the market.

While there's no denying that performance shoes serve a practicality, they're specific to wearers and lack a universality that shoes like the adidas Stan Smith - which bridge the gap between fashion and sport - are able to offer.

This shift has implications for those on each side of the coin, though.

On one hand, sports brands no longer have to abide by their athletic heritage and can cater more of their designs to the fashion crowd. On the other, brands that have established their validity in fashion now have the leeway to create sneakers without technical function.