When ballet pumps started taking over street style, I didn’t pay much attention. Why would I, a woman who loves to walk the dusty streets of London, be wearing shoes that are so close to the ground? Those little slips of a shoe, with barely an ounce of protection, were clearly made for a woman much more sophisticated than I. But something with a little more chunk and muscle caught my eye: the ballet sneaker. From the pub to the party and the morning commute… she’s the footwear that can do it all.
The ballet trainer – a ballet shoe and trainer hybrid propelled into the street-style ether by beloved brands, such as Simone Rocha, Kiko Kostadinov and Cecilie Bahnsen, and copied by the likes of Ganni and Nike – should come as no surprise. They are the logical outcome of the balletcore trend plus trainer fever, with an alluring splash of mutant energy (fashion heads love a slightly repellent, mutant shoe. See also: the New Balance sneaker mules and whatever the f*ck these are). They’re also just a little more practical for winter than your average slip-on. When you have to hop over puddles on your way to work, a simple fabric pump won’t do. The ballet trainer can give that extra lift and shielding.
Classic shoes being sneaker-fied has, in some ways, defined much of 2024. “The sneaker-fied shoe is simply what happens when the convergent forces of meme culture and streetwear combine, producing silhouettes that simultaneously repel and draw people in,” wrote my colleague Daniel Rodgers earlier this year. In essence, the ballet trainer is exactly that: a fashion trend with the sort of statement-y twist beloved by the internet. They’re cute, but also weird, like all the most alluring style choices.
As someone who loves the look of ballet pumps on other people, but not me, the ballet trainer is a way to experience both worlds: the charm of the pump, with the slightly more masculine flavour of the trainer. Plus, they’re sort of ugly, and who doesn’t love an ugly shoe trend?
