There comes a point when you stop buying trainers you have to practise walking in. Farewell, then, to the hidden wedge, the sole like a builder’s skip and anything requiring the balance of a circus performer. What once felt fashion-forward has started to feel faintly hostile. We are calling time.
The grown-up designer trainer is lower, cleaner and considerably more useful: suede or leather, perhaps a gum sole, enough personality to register but not so much that it hijacks the outfit. Most importantly, you can actually walk in it. Properly. Down Sloane Street, through an airport, around a gallery, possibly all three in the same day.
And versatility is the point. The right pair works with jeans and a trench, takes the stiffness out of tailoring and looks unexpectedly good beneath an evening dress. This season’s best come from Bottega Veneta, Dior, Ferragamo, Hermès, Loro Piana and Saint Laurent, in tobacco suede, cream leather, navy and soft neutrals.
The rule is simple: if you can saunter in them and still look pulled together, they qualify.
