Much has been said about the inexorable rise of streetwear and its influence on luxury fashion, for better or worse. Many designer brands seem to have somewhat lost the plot, especially when it comes to footwear. Some of their sneakers, for instance, have swelled to truck-like proportions, with enough clashing colours to make Warhol’s works seem monochromatic.
Showing how it should be done is Hermes, which has been masterfully mixing ease and elegance way before anyone was talking about the casualisation of once-formal dress codes. Its Spring/Summer 2020 collection tastefully taps into the streetwear zeitgeist: A pair of low-cut sneakers is made mostly from the technical-knit, a sock-like material typically associated with fashionable sports shoes, and then elevated with buckled calfskin quarters (the sections of a shoe where shoelaces are threaded).
In the same collection, there’s also a nod to another ongoing footwear craze – Teva lookalike sandals. Hermes’ take on the look features a comfortably bouncy sole that sandwiches leather between brightly coloured rubber layers, and straps in a deeply desirable shade of olive green. Easy and elegant.
