In the first part, I remembered a more "naive" perspective , a relationship with sneakers and style which was much more shaped by memories, the need to assert oneself, or on the contrary, social integration.
This second part, on the contrary, relates my tastes in sneakers from the moment when style went from a concern of rather secondary importance, to a real passion which grew from year to year.
I would therefore adopt a point of view that is both more "aesthetic" and more "technical" than in the first part.
The year between my 19th and 20th birthday was a year of deep stylistic questioning.
It was also the year I started reading... BonneGueule!
And although I bought very few pieces during this period, I felt an increasingly strong disconnect between my clothes and the identity of "young adult" which was gradually beginning to be mine.
You see, college is not high school.
When you are dressed in a way that is both assertive and slovenly
Was it the idea of prestige that we associated with law? A question of social class and means? Who knows...
What seemed certain to me, however, was that more and more of the students I met and worked with did not choose their clothes out of simple "mimicry", or to signal some sort of claim, such as "I like this style of music" .
On the contrary, they were looking for real appreciation.
A social enhancement of their image, but also an aesthetic enhancement of their person.
From 20 to 25 years old: a wiser style, more high-end sneakers
As I observed this change in those around me, I began to understand that there were issues of harmony , and "Beauty", when it came to style.
And that the right clothes were perhaps not just the ones that I liked "because they are my tastes" .
So I must admit to you that, no matter how sincere my approach (explained in the previous article ), I was starting to feel uncomfortable in my Nike Dunks with “Groove” written on them .
Between my slightly quirky character, my strange quirks
Strange paisley pattern shirt worn haphazardly under a cashmere sweater, questionable scarf, vintage Rolex with a completely distended bracelet... And the big Dunks on the feet.
Therefore, I told myself that a more elegant, more harmonious style
I no longer saw it as something that compromised me, but on the contrary, as a “tactical” choice that would allow me to conform less in other aspects.
Which I realized I had to do.
Also, I had already developed a certain taste for "shoes" strictly speaking, those made of leather, and I gradually favored them over sneakers.
In short, I was entering a phase of calming down my style.
And at first, I really thought that sneakers no longer had their place there.
My sudden disavowal of this piece could be summed up in three words: “lack of harmony” .
That is to say, the sneaker always seemed to me to have a little design element that jumped out at you: a big round logo here, a feline jumping there, a huge swoosh, contrasting colors, always something written somewhere on the pump...
Fortunately, reading our guides
And not doing things by halves, I started directly with the best I knew.
1. These Lanvins, first love lost forever (20-21 years)
It's 2014, when suddenly...
Everyone...
Door...
Of the...
Adidas ...
“Stan Smith.”
EVERYONE !
No doubt you remember, it was the time when we talked about this sneaker as a real invasion. It didn't happen overnight, but I had barely had time to notice their popularity when they were already everywhere.
Years later, the phonetic echo of their name still rings in my ears.
“Stannesmisse”. “Stannesmisse”? “Stanneuuuhsmissuh”!
The “Stannesmisse” in all its “Standeur”.
Besides, I have my own theory on their enormous resurgence in popularity during this period: among the "iconic" models in the history of sneakers, it was undoubtedly one of the purest, most minimalist. But we'll talk about the trend of the time a little later...
In the meantime, me, Nicolo aged 20, absolutely did not want to have something that looked like Stan Smith for my first "premium" sneaker...
This is partly why I only turned to “minimalist” sneakers the following year.
The other reason was my difficulty in appreciating the visual thickness of the "Margom" soles , which were beginning to be perceived both as a marker of quality, and as inseparable from the design of this type of sneaker.
I had the impression that these wide soles were like huge blocks of rubber, and that they evoked something comparable to a platform sole.
The iconic “Serena” sole from Margom. It's not really that thick, since it goes up the leather to where it's sewn.
Ideally, I knew what I needed. Yes, what made me dream was a pair of Lanvin .
The first Stylish Man's Guide sold them to me as the best of the best in luxury sneakers at the time.
To my great regret, they cost more than all the money at my disposal for a month, or even two... But you should never underestimate the tenacity of an enthusiast with few means.
My patience had paid off, and luck had smiled on me: for 250 euros on Videdressing , I had found a fabulous pair, in new condition. This may have been my most expensive clothing purchase to date, but I knew it was a steal given their in-store prices.
Direction the 16th arrondissement , therefore, for a personal delivery.
If by chance I had any doubts about the fact that I was buying a luxury product, the brief exchange with the saleswoman left none.
Disheveled as I was, in my rough outfit and my tired Nike Dunks, I landed in a building hall typical of the beautiful neighborhoods of Paris, where a young woman with a perfectly controlled appearance, from hairdressing, was waiting for me. to the tips of the shoes.
Unfortunately, only two photos remain in my files to this day, and their quality is very average.
“Yes, these are my darling’s, I gave him for his birthday, but they were too small for him,” she explained to me.
“Ah yes... In any case it seems that these are very good quality sneakers” , I said a little awkwardly, wanting to show that “I knew”, too.
“Quite, you know, my darling only wears these sneakers: Lanvin , or Dior.”
“Ah well, he’s quite right eh…” I replied stupidly, trying not to concentrate too much on the scene I was experiencing, worthy of a social caricature, and the unfavorable place I occupied in it. .
But the embarrassment was only short-lived and quickly replaced by the fascination this latest acquisition gave me.
“So this is a luxury sneaker?”
What made this sneaker unlike any other? A lot of things.
First of all, the fact that the main material (over a leather lining) was a midnight blue fabric with iridescent reflections . When the light was dark, it seemed almost black. And as soon as we lit it, it took on metallic reflections, deep shades of blue (and tiny multicolored reflections), slipping away and moving before the eyes.
There were also its grayed metal eyelets with a polished finish , themselves meticulously engraved with the brand name.
The straps around the tongue, the gussets, the heel and the contours of the toe, which were made of “Nappa” leather
Surgically precise seams, the fact that they are lined contributes to the design of the pair...
The demarcation between the colors of the sole formed a sort of "wave"...
And finally, a special sole combining the robust and "sporty" look of a white Margom, with the subtlety of a reminder of color.
Obviously, the lines and overall shape were impeccable. Everything was balanced.
So that was what a luxury sneaker was?
I was almost afraid to walk in them because I admired them so much, but believe me, the pleasure of wearing them was far too great to deprive myself of them.
Denial of size and maintenance disaster
Well, "pleasure"... Except that, in my great ignorance, I believed that Lanvin shoes came in "Italian sizes".
But you know, a 20-year-old under the influence of emotion in the face of such a fabulous pair of sneakers is capable of many things, including... denial.
Too proud of my purchase, too fascinated by their beauty, I convinced myself, despite the pain that persisted over the weeks (months, even), that it was normal. That it would “be done with the ports”.
(Update: Here is the pair that I just found at the bottom of a box in the office. I left them there after looking in vain for someone to repair them)
Despite their condition (saggy heel, softened and wrinkled leather, replacement laces...), we can still guess their past splendor... The fabric reveals its dazzling shades when exposed to light.
When is the heel of the sneaker
I was really sad.
The shoemakers' verdict was clear: "I can't do anything about that, sir" .
I don't know if I suffered more from the size being too small, or from their inevitable destruction...
The interior structure of the heel, a shell of thermoformed plastic, had finally broken . The leather, what's more, is poorly maintained due to my ignorance
Disappointed, I tried to make up my mind. I hoped to find, later, when I had more money and experience, something as beautiful.
“This is only the beginning of my fashion adventure after all!”
The classic Lanvin “Captoe”... Yeah. It's not the same thing though.
To this day, I have never found anything so beautiful to me , in sneakers.
The “classic” Lanvin models have never pleased me so much, with their patent leather toe and their more “raw” look. And the models that came in the following years (more street , more sporty ) moved even further away from my tastes.
I once saw the model for sale on a second-hand site, in the right size for me... But I didn't have the money to buy it back.
And I was never able to find the model reference either.
Dear friends, take it for granted: 99 times out of 100, when you let a favorite piece slip away, or lose, or irreparably damage a favorite piece of clothing: it doesn't matter. You will find better, one day , with patience. Even when you think you've seen perfection, or the best deal, there will always be another opportunity.
But one day...
There will be at least one that you can never replace . This is the exception, the famous “times in 100”. And you will never forget it!
3. Minimalist “trainers” (21-24 years old)
Still reading BonneGueule, I discovered National Standard , and at the same time, Common Projects . Two brands that very early occupied the niche of refined and premium sneakers, but to tell the truth, the Achilles Low model, a pioneer of the genre, was totally out of price for my means.
In the absence of a "hyped" Common Projects , if you were more in a budget 150-200 than around 300 euros, there was National Standard and its Edition 3.
And then, I was still in shock from purchasing Lanvin.
My first minimalist pair was therefore a National Standard , a brand which had rather competitive prices at the time, especially in a market which was much less supplied than today.
Made of a shimmering gray-beige suede , devoid of unnecessary details, well crafted: this pair was a safe bet.
Guess what happened to this gorgeous light suede pair? I ended up turning them into "dirty gray" wrecks, due to lack of precautions and maintenance.
Note that I also talk about " trainer ": this term, older and (I think) more British too, is synonymous with sneaker, but by usage, we sometimes use it to talk about simpler sneakers, older designs, less “technical” in their appearance.
The “German Army Trainer” is one of them. This term, connoted both "vintage" and "sober", distinguishes them from much more visually strong sneakers.
The "Trainer" / "Sneaker" distinction may seem superfluous, but it was not for me... Because it was also through this purchase that I confirmed to myself, deep down, that I was definitely not a lover of “sneakers” in the “street” sense of the term .
No, ultimately, the limited editions, the desire to collect them, the idea of wearing an object of personal expression on my feet, that no longer affected me that much.
On the contrary: give me a sneaker whose look complements and flatters the rest of my clothes .
Give me noble material, simplicity, and even, I would dare say, a touch of elegance in this shoe that we consider “casual”.
There you go, I was now converted to the minimalist sneaker.
And lacking the perspective I have today, I didn't necessarily realize that my desires for sneakers were part of a broader movement in fashion in the 2010s: everything was purified, reduced to its most basic form. lighter, thin, simple, even narrow, sometimes...
The fashion of 2010: remove, purify, shrink...
The cuts narrowed, the lapels of jackets and the collars too, everything was blue, gray or white, nothing stuck out anymore...
It was as if we had to remove from men's fashion its "heaviness" , its lack of finesse, its raw side, too oriented towards function...
Visual purity was a bit of an ideology of mastery , of perfection.
Men's fashion was no longer "a nag's fashion": the modern man went beyond function, and managed to master form in such a way as to reduce it to its simplest expression.
What do you want: we had undoubtedly been marked by a few generations of iPods and iPhones, and the visual philosophy they carried.
I also produced an episode of Gimmick where I had fun comparing the outfits of major influencers between 2015 and 2020.
Although this may seem absurd these days, where trends try to rebalance things in the other direction
Minimalist sneakers: too expensive for their simplicity?
Little discussion parenthesis!
The explosion and democratization of this type of sneaker has caused a lot of controversy between enthusiasts, and left some neophytes unmoved, too.
“Why would I put so much money into a pump with nothing special on it?” is the reaction most people have when they see them. A pragmatic reaction, in a way.
On the enthusiast side, the recurring argument of those who have a grudge against Common Projects
"It's just super expensive Stan Smiths re-pumped" .
Well, I totally agree with them about the excessive price.
On the other hand, I do not share their opinion regarding “it’s just…” .
I see this edition of Achilles Low as Common Projects ' quiet way of responding to these remarks. A fine troll.
Let's broaden the line: a cashmere scarf, "it's just" a piece of goat hair fabric... A Bespoke suit, "it's just" wool with seams.
You see what I mean ? Summarizing an object to its “simplest concept” does not mean that its concept “is simple”.
And minimalism will always be a little more questioned... Because it is a "simple DU" concept.
However, the pleasant simplicity that you see before your eyes requires reflection which is more complex.
It's like trying to write a good journalistic summary : a lot of information, and a lot of work to reduce it to a form that is intuitive to understand, containing all the essentials, but nothing superfluous.
The same could be said of popular science, for example.
Consequently, if we accept that the price of a product can be determined by design and research work as much as by the cost of materials and manufacturing
That said, this argument also has its limits : once a refined design has become democratized, it is no longer as difficult as that to recreate it, to change it slightly... At least, not as much as being the first to have thought of it as such.
An Artisan Lab (top) and a Common Project (bottom). Of course, it's not identical either, and each brand needs to rethink the shape a bit.
And moreover, the minimalist sneaker market has turned more and more towards arguments of quality and price, as this segment found itself saturated with brands that had “got the thing”.
Coming back to me and my pumps, today, I only have one pair in this spirit : an off-white Artisan Lab .
Why “off-white”? So that the pair doesn't distract too much from the outfit. Optical white is very eye-catching.
It is aging well and is enough for me. Contrary to what I might have thought in the past, I don't need color variations for this style of sneakers.
Especially because I only wear it when I find it particularly appropriate.
Namely, in a contemporary casual outfit, which does not lend itself to more details on the shoes. Either because cleanliness is the general theme of the outfit, or because the outfit is already too busy elsewhere. In both cases, there is no point for me to have anything other than white.
Ultimately, this is perhaps the final step of minimalism in design: using it only minimally, where it makes the most sense.
4. “Premium” rising stars (21-22 years old)
There is also a pair that had its place during my early twenties.
A more discreet place, but a place nonetheless: a pair of National Standard high tops.
Over time, the leather has aged, taking on a more "cream" tone... Which actually makes them much more beautiful.
I fell in love with these for three reasons, which could be classified from the most rational to the least.
The first is that they were beautiful and I loved their color palette, playing on shades of gray.
Freshly out of Elevation Store with my new pair, I was too impatient not to take a photo on the subway.
The second is that it reminded me of the second BonneGueule x National Standard collab, which unfortunately dated from the time when I had just discovered BonneGueule, and which I had realized too late that I liked them.
The “BGNS-02” as they were called. I had spent an unreasonable amount of time reading and re-reading their sales page. Note the “triple texture” play: smooth leather, suede, and grained nubuck.
The third was the result of an internal conflict : I could see that on the sneaker market, high-tops were gradually losing the popularity they had had in the past.
I could also see that they were more difficult to wear, especially with the openings of the trouser legs which tightened... Trousers which, to fall well on the tongue, revealing it "just enough but not too much" required being constantly adjusted, at a frequency that was only viable for a photo shoot, but not in real life.
Legend has it that it was called “Stacking” at the time. We wanted to highlight the beautiful sneaker, and give volume with the folds of fabric...
But there you go, I had ALWAYS worn high tops. The Dunk, the Supra, the Converse ... It was a "trademark" of my identity as a teenager.
Result of the races? I wore them very little. But it's not any worse, since I'm rediscovering them today with a new eye. In recent years, I have occasionally taken them out again, and enjoyed seeing what I could do with them with my current experience. It's really not bad with a nice flannel joggers.
4. The Minimalist “sneaker” (24-25 years old)
At the risk of sounding like I'm repeating myself. If you look back on your changes in personal tastes, look at changes in overall trends over a period of time, and correlate the two. You will see that even with your individuality, you are always influenced , more or less subtly, by the spirit of the times.
You see, I still appreciated the minimalism and cleanliness of the "Achilles Low" style trainers, but I was starting to feel the need to combine that with a little more detail , a little more character.
I told myself that I already had quite a few, shoes for "simple and elegant", and that casually, it would be nice to have sneakers that keep this purity while giving them the "sport" aspect " in which they take root.
Yes, that was definitely what I wanted. And presumably Common Projects knew I'd want it before I knew it , since it was around the time of these thoughts that I started seeing their "B-Ball" model featured all over the place. high-end shops.
In all these years, CP had failed to reach my wallet with the Achilles, but B-Ball took me by surprise. They got me.
The ultra mega favorite. What made them irresistible to me was the use of the tone-on-tone sole on a camel nubuck...
Overall, the B-Ball is to the Nike Air Force One what the Achilles Low is to the Stan Smith: those who want to exaggerate the line will speak of a "copy", but I prefer to speak once again, of a reduction "to its essence" , of a visual purification.
The challenge is to ask ourselves what elements of the Air Force One give them a charm that is absent from other sneakers.
What was retained on the AF1 by CP is the toe of the sneaker: the shape of the cutout that goes around it, the gussets that meet at the bottom, and the perforations.
And at the same time, to look for those who obstruct a purer, simpler and soothing look. And then, sometimes, you also need a little something extra: note the notch that appears on the sides of the toe panel, and which distinguishes the B-Ball from the Air Force One. It's nothing, but it changes everything, don't you think?
Moreover, from one edition to another, this perfectionist search continues via tiny variations.
Some versions have a more "vintage sports" sole, with a slightly raised top and natural rubber color.
Others, like this one, change the heel a little to reinforce the sporty dimension while still distancing themselves from the original "Air Force" inspiration.
The other B-Ball in my collection. Full of character and yet versatile. As with the other, color is a strong argument.
These two B-Balls are still among the pairs I wear most often , and what surprises me the most is not only the amount of compliments they receive, but also the fact that they appeal so well to fans of more “street” sneakers than people who prefer a more dressy style.
The final word
Some may have noticed that something does not add up in the way I end this article.
I am currently 27 years old as I write these lines, and this retrospective ended at 25...
Which means that there are still two years of sneakers, and stylistic development, that I have to share with you. And so, there is still a third part to be published.
If the first took a naive, nostalgic approach, based on memories of childhood and adolescence.
And that the second wanted to be more analytical, more focused on aesthetics and technique.
What do you think the final episode of my sneaker retrospective will approach ? 😉
