The persistence of the white sneaker as an acceptable walking shoe (begone, heels!) has been a shift we embraced easily enough. Comfort is now the priority when considering respectable footwear, as white shoes make headway even in a business setting. See: finance bros suiting up with the On Clouds. But the hunt is still on: for a white shoe that isn’t totally ubiquitous, while still remaining understated enough to be an everyday shoe.
The Stan Smiths are certainly ephemeral: it had its first moment in the 1980s, when the white-and-green tennis shoe became a street culture staple, before returning in the 2000s as a designer off-duty favourite, before finally finding a third life in 2014 as an all-white essential. Converse hi- and low-tops alike were fundamental to the indie sleaze wave, paired with shredded denim shorts, black biker jackets, a slouchy beanie (and perhaps a moustache tattoo on the index finger). Veja was launched in 2004, but gained serious momentum in 2019 following the opening of their brick-and-mortar store and a string of high-profile endorsements à la Emma Watson and Meghan Markle at the height of their popularity.
The meteoric rise of the Nike Air Jordan is also worth noting. Since it launched in 1984, the shoe has undergone iterations of new colourways and small adjustments to the design, whilst retaining the same daring charisma as the muse who inspired it all, Michael Jordan. In contrast, slimmer silhouettes like the Adidas Samba have found new ground (alongside their offshoots in the Gazelle and Tokyo), though most notably outside of the purely white colourways, and instead leaning towards the fun and eclectic.
Outside of the mainstream silhouettes, there have been many alternative options of note in the sneaker realm—even for the casual sneakerheads. Some may remember Rihanna’s foray into shoe apparel with her Fenty x Puma collab beginning in 2016; On running shoes gaining a serious moment in 2024, particularly for the fintech bros; Salomon embracing a transition beyond a technical brand into a lifestyle shoe; or Asics’s epic streak of collaborations, from Cecilie Bahsen to Kiko Kostadinov.
Currently, the New Balance 530s are having a chunky throwback moment, one that can be attributed to a broader tendency to retro althleisure. This comes alongside the increasingly popular hybrid Mary Jane ballerina sneaker silhouette, with notable variations by Puma and Onitsuka Tiger—proof that there is still plenty of room to manipulate what a sneaker can look like, and what it can be worn with.
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Every now and then, a new silhouette comes to the fore, reaches ubiquity, and inspires mainstream fatigue—rinse and repeat. And though the sneaker du jour is perpetually in cycle, one thing that has remained constant is the love for a white shoe.
For those looking for an interesting white sneaker, a unique statement outside of the familiar silhouettes, or, to put it simply, a cute everyday shoe, here is a Vogue-curated selection of pairs that have skated under the radar.
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Puma x Ssense Exclusive White V-S1 Leather Sneakers, $185
Available at Ssense.
