GILDING THE NIKE Dior Homme silver Velcro sneakers, $440 at Jeffrey New York; Creative Recreation snakeskin-embossed silver high-top sneakers, $210 at Barneys New York; Alejandro Ingelmo gold high-tops, $475 at Saks Fifth Avenue; Gucci silver lace-ups, $585 at Gucci. Cotton jeans, $68 at American Apparel.
photo by Dean Isidro for New York Times
Quote:
A Glint In Your Step
by David Colman
published July 31, 2008
THE status sneaker, once a utilitarian object with a sole of rubber, is now practically fit for the Court of St. James’s. With such a warrant, is it any surprise that today’s haute cobblers would want to get into the game? Picking up on the silver and gold tones recently trotted out by Supra, Nike, Converse and others, fashion houses like Dior, Lanvin, Pierre Hardy and Gucci have come out with metallic sneakers, slip-ons and even low-heeled jazz shoes.
While the look is not new, it gathered major steam last year, said Bradley Carbone, an editor at Complex magazine, after Jay-Z wore a pair of gold Supra Skytops in the Rihanna video for “Umbrella.” Since then, it has trickled down, if you will, to the high-fashion labels. Sneakerheads may sniff at the sight of European fashion houses following American sporting-good brands, but if you are going to shell out for sneakers, at least these look as if they’re worth it.
“These, you can really dress them up and wear them out,” Mr. Carbone said.
The look is so eye-catching that its arrival is hard to deny, even in a crowd. Several pairs were spotted this month at the downtown art-world opening-night blowout for “Pretty Ugly,” the group show at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise and the Maccarone gallery.
“They’ve definitely invaded my consciousness in the past month or so,” said Rob Pruitt, one of the artists in the show, and no stranger to metallic accents himself. For “Pretty Ugly,” he created an immense rectangle of shimmery black metallic paillettes titled “Prince William Sound, 1989” (a reference to the Exxon Valdez spill), a nod to the dark side of glitter.
“I think the Homer Simpson in all of us is just drawn to things that are shiny,” he said.
Not to mention, to things that are Gucci.
This is not news to many of us here, but interesting to see the coverage all the same!
I'm actually tired of metallics, although there are a lot of cute metallic things. I keep thinking the trend is going to go away but it keeps sticking around!
Ooh I love metallic shoes. I have a pair of silver metallic gladiator sandals and a pair of silver metallic chucks, but I really want to get a pair of gold metallic ankle boots. My style icon Alison Mosshart is always wearing them and they look awesome.
I'm in love with my silver lace-ups. I really wanted the Gucci pair, but my worry was how verstaile can silver shoes really be? (oh and the price, 600 on shoes... for an BA student is insane).
I, with a little help from a cobbler and tFS DIY people, made my own pair.
I *freaking* love 'em. I'm always amazed by how many outfits they put the finishing touch on. I think it's an elegant way to jazz up one's summer wardrobe. Silver lace-ups, IMO, are amazingly versatile.
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