Trainers Put Their Right Foot First on the Catwalk

Fashion evolves drastically over time, with trends coming in and going out—and shoes are no stranger to this cycle. Once upon a time, for example, high heel shoes were made for men. According to shoe historian Cameron Kippen, the heel originated as the answer to horse riding and allowed riders to hold tight onto the saddle. They very quickly became stylish for rich courtiers and kings in particular, with men dressed to the nines in boots with heels. In later years, heels in the French court at Versailles were a sign of important status and were restricted to be worn by the nobility—wearing heeled shoes without permission could cost your head. In contemporary times, the heel has been worn primarily by women. Heels are now used to elongate the legs and give the illusion of better posture. There are many alluring shapes of ladies’ shoes, ranging from the elegant mule to the reliable and friendly slider—and it seems the times are changing in terms of what’s the most popular design of shoe. The ultimate shoe trend indexrnWe created ‘The Shoe Trend Index’ to find out the question we’re all dying to know: which shoe has had a glow up among our inner fashionistas, and which ones are we leaving in the back of our wardrobes? Using a range of data from Google Trends, Pinterest, Instagram, and the general use of hashtags, we explored the design that has shown the most positive growth by looking at factors like the number of posts and online searches to show an increase in popularity over a year. Each design of shoe was ranked based on how many ‘Positive Growth Points’ they were awarded—each point represented a positive per cent change, not if they scored high consistently. The official trainer takeoverrnAccording to our research, the chunky trainer has shot up in popularity over the last year, growing 54.2% and leading the category of explosive trends. This is certainly a shoe trend picking up momentum, with Mintel reporting that women are favouring the reliable trainer over a heel. 37% of women in the UK bought a new pair of trainers last year in comparison to 33% investing in new high heels. It is suspected that the trainer takeover is driven by the sportswear market dominating the fashion industry, with casual clothes and comfort overriding everything else. This athleisure trend doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down, with even avid heel lover Victoria Beckham trading stilettos for trainers. Tamara Sender, senior fashion analyst at Mintel, commented: "The UK sportswear market has seen strong growth in the last year and there has been a trend for consumers to integrate sports clothing into their daily wardrobes, meaning trainers have become more popular among women.” Luxury fashion brands have also been driving the hype, with brands like Balenciaga and Yeezy pioneering the era of ‘ugly’ trainers by offering a trendy range of monster size footwear, inspiring a new era of fashion that has spiralled with dupes and spin-offs. And it isn’t just the very youngest shoppers who are ditching heels for trainers, with the market research firm reporting that women aged 35–44 were causing the biggest shift in sales, with 48% purchasing trainers and just 30% opting for heels. Google Trend data revealed that searches for “how to wear trainers with dresses” and “best shoes to wear around the house” grew 600% and 800%, respectively, over a year period from September 2019 to August 2020, showing that dressing down appears to be growing in favour of today’s fashion-conscious shoppers. In comparison, searches for “when to wear heels with jeans” and “shoes for dresses not heels” only grew by 100% and 50%, respectively. While wearing a pair of heels was once seen as an ultimate symbol of femininity, times are changing and androgynous dressing and gender fluidity are creating a new world of unisex clothing, for example, unisex brand Collusion. Comfort comes firstrnFrom the data, we’re seeing a common theme arise for today’s shoppers—comfort. Slides were ranked as timeless classics, earning first place with the most points and positive growth, with an overall score of 507, followed closely by pumps with 483. Over a five-year period, slides rose 19.7% in terms of popularity, with 1,060,774 posts online. It’s likely that many years ago, before the slide revolution, we wouldn’t be caught dead in a flat shoe that prioritised comfort over aesthetic. Today, it’s one of the biggest categories in casual footwear and much more successful and lasting than flip-flops. Even luxury brands have entered the market, attracted by the sheer demand and facilitating a brand-new trend that also shows no sign of slowing down. The what nail?rnShoes categorised as fashion disasters included the hobnail, T bar sandals—certainly overtaken by slides—plimsoll trainers, clogs, and high heeled boots. Although we’re surprised to see clogs so unpopular given the theme of comfort and casual, it’s clear that fashionable-casual wins. rnDo you agree with the findings, or are you a die-hard high heel fanatic? Of course, each shoe is best for different occasions—so how will you express yourself?