Chunky Sneakers Are Dead. Welcome to the Skinny Sole Era

Calum Marsh
·3 min read
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Collage: Gabe Conte

When the eternally-cool Japanese label Issey Miyake recently unveiled its upcoming Spring-Summer 2024 collection, there was one piece that instantly stood out among the rest: the Issey Miyake x New Balance MT10O, an elevated haute couture twist on a stripped-down NB sneaker from 2011, which featured minimal cushioning and an almost nonexistent sole. Made with “sensuous physicality and barefoot mobility” in mind, according to Issey Miyake designer Satoshi Kondo, it’s a lightweight, low-rise sneaker with a strikingly minimalistic style.

The spartan build of the New Balance MT10 is the perfect fit for Issey Miyake, a house famed for its clean lines and almost elemental purity. But the arrival of this barefoot-style shoe in a high-fashion format is also exactly on trend. In the wake of the big boots and chunky sneakers of previous seasons, we are now firmly in the era of the tiny shoe—from dainty loafers and ballet flats to low-top soccer kicks that pair best with massive, pooling denim. This is the next logical step in the trend: The silhouettes are already small, so now we’re seeing the soles themselves vanish to the point of invisibility. Get ready to be really, really close to the floor when you step out this summer.

It’s not just Issey Miyake that’s taken notice. Miu Miu, themselves of the most prominent viral ballet flat, recently released its own noticeably low-profile collab with New Balance. The New Balance x Miu Miu 530 SL, otherwise known as the 530 “Super Light,” is so absurdly low to the ground that the sole is virtually nonexistent. Considering that New Balance was instrumental in the resurgence of oversized dad shoes to begin with, it’s interesting to see them on the forefront of the skinny sole trend. While the brand still has plenty of chunky sneakers in the lineup, it’s now also forging ahead in the opposite direction.

By far the most extreme iteration of the trend to date is Ye’s new Yeezy Pods, launched during this year’s Super Bowl and beginning to ship out to customers over the past few weeks. With their simple, streamlined silhouette, ultra-high top, and wafer-thin heel, they look more like socks from a distance than actual boots. The stretchy knit build and minimal rubber grip are certainly distinctive, but most people who’ve worn them seem to find them reasonably comfortable—though, only available in three somewhat vague-sounding sizes, it can be a bit of a crapshoot finding a pair that actually fits. Like most things Ye puts out these days, the Pods feel simultaneously like an experiment and a work in progress.

These and other skinny-sole sneakers draw inspiration from the world of high-level running, which has long embraced “barefoot runners” as an alternative to heavily cushioned running shoes. The science has been controversial: Although proponents of barefoot models like the popular Vibram Five Fingers contend that the sensation of being closer to the ground allows them to stay more in tune with their bodies, studies have shown that the loss of cushioning can have a negative impact on athletic performance. But these new invisible-soled kicks are lifestyle models; how the shoes look matters more here than how the style affects your gait. That means there’s a lot less to worry about mechanically than with your choice of marathon shoe, so feel free to embrace the new aesthetic if you please—at least until the trend pendulum swings back to chunky all over again.

Originally Appeared on GQ

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