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From the football pitch to the street: studded shoes are shaking up fashion
by Stephanie Vinzens
It’s hard to believe, but toe shoes are now considered stylish
3.12.2024
Translation: Megan Cornish
Think you’ve seen everything the ugly shoe world has to offer after Crocs, trainer loafers and monstrous soles? Get ready for the latest trend: Vibram Fivefingers.
The boundaries between ugly and beautiful are becoming increasingly blurred in the footwear world. Birkenstocks, Crocs and Uggs have long been cult, trainers are being shamelessly crossed with loafers and sandals, oversized red boots that look as if they’ve come straight out of a comic are going viral. What surprises are left? Well, the most radical ugly shoe of all time: the toe shoe. Long the target of ridicule, it’s become a fashionista favourite.
Vibram and Fivefingers
The current hype is down to Italian company Vibram, which has been producing high-performance rubber soles for over 80 years. It supplies outdoor brands such as Merrell and Scarpa, as well as luxury brands including Jil Sander and Rick Owens. In 2005, Vibram launched its first in-house shoe – Fivefingers – doing pioneering work in the development of barefoot shoes.
Unfortunately, these products are currently only available in our Swiss shop.
Today, Fivefingers are available in various designs, such as trainers, boots and ballet flats. Editorial colleague and outdoor enthusiast Siri Schubert bought her first pair 15 years ago for jogging and has been a fan ever since: «I wear them for sport, walking and sometimes in the city – although I do get the odd strange look.»
The shoes with toe chambers – which take some getting used to – were originally designed for sports and outdoor activities, but even then they’re polarising. They seem even stranger in supermarkets and offices and on public transport, but that could soon change.
Gorpcore, thin soles and Japanese toe socks
Products with beneficial properties
In a highly digitalised, fast-moving world, toe shoes miraculously combine the opposing desire for deceleration and novelty. But sooner or later, even their appearance will start to bore us. The only question that remains is which model can top the quirkiness of Fivefingers – or whether they mark the crowning glory of the ugly shoe era.
Has endless love for shoulder pads, Stratocasters and sashimi, but a limited tolerance for bad impressions of her Eastern Swiss dialect.
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