For years, fashionable sneakers kept getting bigger. Soles became platforms, uppers gained endless layers and some shoes appeared to require their own seat on public transport. Then fashion changed direction.
Suddenly, the pairs everyone wanted were narrow, flat and close to the ground. Welcome to the return of the low-profile sneaker, where less shoe somehow produces more fashion.
In Episode 5 of Sneaker Talk, we explore how footwear created for motorsport, sprinting and athletic training escaped the world of performance and became the answer to years of enormous soles.
What is inside Episode 5
The episode follows four models that helped fashion rediscover the appeal of speed:
- PUMA Speedcat — the Grand Prix-inspired shoe that moved from the cockpit into street style.
- PUMA Mostro — the “monster” combining 1960s sprinting spikes with 1980s surfing shoes.
- Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 — the Olympic training shoe that entered cinema history through Kill Bill.
- adidas Tokyo — the archival track model emerging as a successor to the almost unavoidable Samba.
You will also discover why race-car drivers need thin soles, how practical sporting details become fashion statements and why old performance shoes can look more futuristic than modern ones.
And we will ask whether fashion genuinely wants to move faster — or has simply become tired of carrying so much shoe.
Listen now
Listen to Episode 5 of Sneaker Talk on STR — and discover how sneakers built for speed became fashionable even when their wearers were going absolutely nowhere.
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