Can you accept "split toe shoes"? In fact, this kind of shoe design concept is not uncommon in daily life, just like the "flip flops" that people wear most often, and the traditional Japanese clogs all adopt the structure of split toes. However, when it comes to "partner shoes", the first thing that comes to mind is Maison Margiela Tabi and Nike Air Rift Br. The concept of "partner shoes" is not just divided into two parts. The new collaboration launched by designer Takahiro Miyashita, a personal fashion brand TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist recently launched with SUICOKE, which shows the more uncommon side of this design system - "five-toed shoes".
It is quite surprising: Miyashita Takayuki, who has cooperated with SUICOKE many times, did not choose classic shoe models such as KAW-CAB, MOTO-VS or Depa this time, but instead teamed up with a special branch VFF BY SUICOKE under SUICOKE to bring this pair of "five-toed shoes". Looking at the design of the entire pair of shoes, there is not much of Miyashita Takayuki's personal color. The uppers with different materials splicing combinations show more of their functionality, which undoubtedly aroused many people's curiosity: Why did Miyashita Takayuki cooperate with SUICOKE to launch this shoe that seems "unfashionable" at all?
Coincidentally, it is not only Miyashita who evolved "five-toed shoes" into fashion products. Looking back on BALENCIAGA's interpretation in the 2021 Spring and Summer Vacation Series, you can still see the "five-toed shoes". What you want to say next may make you feel interesting: As early as 2018, the ins account @crimesagainstshoemanity posted a spoof picture on the Internet, printing the brand logo of BALENCIAGA on a pair of Velcro "five-toed shoes". This move may be just a simple complaint. BALENCIAGA is always launching "ugly shoes", but unexpectedly it will come true 3 years later.
has successively won the favor of BALENCIAGA and Miyashita Takahiro, and the "five-toed shoes" have actually attracted more people's attention. At this moment when anything can become a hit, will such shoes become the next trend?
Before becoming an unconventional fashion, "five-toed shoes" were actually a pair of running shoes?
When designing this pair of shoes called "Toe Lace Up", the fashion industry was shut down due to the epidemic. The BALENCIAGA team, including creative director Gvasalia, had to work from home and design new season works. Later in an interview, Gvasalia said that he was fascinated by Vibram's "five-toed shoes" at that time, which we generally call them "barefoot shoes": "When you are at home or in quarantine, what better to wear than a pair of shoes that make you feel barefoot?"
From what Gvasalia said, he chose to launch this series of "five-toed shoes" for the brand's 2021 Spring and Summer Vacation Series. The biggest reason is that it personally experienced the comfort and easy wear - he really said it. In fact, this is the original intention of the birth of "five-toed shoes".
Time back to one day in the 2000s, a pair of shoes with five-toed partition design officially became a member of the Vibram brand. Speaking of Vibram, I believe everyone will not be unfamiliar with it. This company focused on producing rubber soles provides a durable and anti-slip "gold outsole" to countless outdoor and sports brands. But in comparison, Vibram's independent shoe product is not so well-known, but the appearance of this pair of "five-toed shoes" has caused a considerable change in people's perception of it.
Vibram FiveFingers at that time was definitely an unprecedented new concept for most people. The idea was Robert Fliri, a shoe designer at the brand: "We have five toes, and when they can move and grab the ground independently, and you can really feel the surface under your feet, your body can do whatever you want.”
Life experience in rural Italy made Robert Fliri think of creating such a pair of shoes, because he often worked in the fields and couldn’t move easily in ordinary shoes. Frequently wearing shoes and taking off shoes made him feel very cumbersome. Therefore, Vibram FiveFingers, which gives the wearer a barefoot experience, came into being, and Fliri created a soft upper that fits the arch like a glove, and a split toe design with a Vibram rubber outsole, and weakens the midsole of the shoe to make the soles more clearly sense contact with the ground.
Review What kind of shoes were people wearing in the 2000s? Sports brands such as Nike, adidas, Reebok are constantly reforming and innovating sneaker midsole technology, and more and more cushioning materials and technology are injecting into the sneakers we wear every day... In this context, the starting point of Vibram FiveFingers, which takes barefoot as the starting point, is actually contrary to the point. After all, so many footwear brands are trying to highlight the importance of sneakers and footwear technology to people's lives.
"Sing the opposite" Vibram FiveFingers was eliminated by the times like this? The answer is obviously not the case, because now it not only represents Vibram's new paradigm of footwear design, but also has countless fans and even enters the ranks of running shoes that are popular among athletes. What made Vibram FiveFingers connect with running was a marathon held in Boston. The well-known "barefoot runner" Ted McDonald applied to participate in the competition in Vibram's "five-toe shoes". This debut made it welcome the attention of "barefoot runners" around the world. The "unsociable" sound made by Vibram also gained more and more "listeners" at this time.
Compared with ordinary running shoes, Vibram FiveFingers requires a longer running-in period for people who are not used to running barefoot. In order to fully sense the ground and surrounding environment of the soles of the feet, when choosing such running shoes, you not only need to adapt to the extraordinary lightness, but also need to be used to adjusting your running status based on the feedback from the feet to the ground. Therefore, if you want to run in such a pair of shoes, there is still a certain entry threshold, which also makes Vibram FiveFingers still seem very "niche" for most runners.
But at the same time, some people like Gvasalia began to notice the adaptability of such shoes in daily life, and unconsciously gave the "five-toed shoes" another function besides sports and training shoes. Of course, the design brought by Gvasalia to BALENCIAGA has explored more about the fashion definition of this strange-shaped shoe in the context of the new era. The people it attracts are no longer just the "barefoot runners" of the 2000s. Young people who are keen on the new generation of footwear culture can also learn about the different charms of the Vibram FiveFingers evolved through this unique fashion. The "five-toed shoes" options such as
may be suitable for you who want to "barefoot"
Go back to the present, and the life scenarios that "five-toed shoes" can be applied are no longer just professional running. In addition to daily life travel and home, many outdoor enthusiasts also choose such shoes to hike in the mountains. The powerful anti-slip and wear-resistant performance provided by Vibram rubber sole meets the needs of many climbers. As the use of the products continues to be wider, consumers who prefer "five-toed shoes" are also increasing day by day. So, if you want to buy a pair of "five-toed shoes" that are suitable for use, what are the best choices? This time we have brought 4 recommendations to all readers.
SUICOKE Nin Lo rubber finger sneaker sneakers
Price: 29,600 JPY
The article begins, we mentioned that Miyashita Takayuki cooperated with SUICOKE to jointly sign the new "five-toed shoes", but this time, the leading side of SUICOKE is not the main line, but a special branch line under SUICOKE called VFF BY SUICOKE.VFF is actually the abbreviation of Vibram FiveFingers. This branch is also a branch of SUICOKE, which has a long-term cooperation with Vibram, specifically designed to create "five-toed shoes".
is the pair of SUICOKE Nin Lo rubber finger sneakers. Compared with the Vibram FiveFingers we know, the shoe has obviously made great changes in the contour and material selection of uppers. While the outsole is consistent with the overall shoe shape, SUICOKE provides it with a mid-top option similar to "socks and overshoes", which displays a sense of layering in the upper part of its simple structure through fabrics of different textures, and the presser foot lines play a role in hierarchy.
Vibram KSO EVO Cross Training Shoe
Price: 10,940 JPY
If you want to buy an authentic "five-toed shoes", the best choice must be Vibram. Since the launch of Vibram FiveFingers in the 2000s, the brand has also launched optimization and improvement of this series of shoes, constantly adjusting and adapting to the current consumer orientation, thus bringing more possibilities to Vibram FiveFingers.
The Vibram KSO EVO Cross Training Shoe we see now exists and is very different from the original Vibram FiveFingers in overall structure. The shoe is positioned as a running training shoe, so it is designed with collar details that come with edging to prevent foot wear, the thickened tongue part and the Fastfit fast lace-up system that can adjust the fitness of the back and the shoe body, which also takes into account its needs as a pair of running shoes. It is worth mentioning that the outsole part of this Vibram KSO EVO Cross Training Shoe is not selected as the tracked outsole that the brand is best at, but is arranged in fine but very well-organized rubber particles, which is also to enable runners to better perceive the road conditions and adjust their running status.
BALENCIAGA Black Finger Toe ROC sneakers
Price: 185,000 JPY
When talking about why BALENCIAGA wanted to create a pair of "five-toed shoes", Gvasalia's answer was: "Because of laziness." But if you look at these BALENCIAGA Black Finger Toe ROC sneakers in detail, you can feel that this is by no means designed for a lazy and lazy wearer.
The biggest highlight of this shoe in the overall design is the spring-type heightening design on the heel. This easily reminds people of the new sneaker X-Pander launched by BALENCIAGA this season. It seems that Gvasalia does want to classify the high heels into the long-term development plan of the brand's sneaker line, but combining such a design with "five-toed shoes" has greatly weakened its characteristics as a "barefoot shoe" - it seems that it is not that comfortable? But such creative design does make people feel the fashionable language of BALENCIAGA. It is also worth mentioning that the entire pair of shoes of BALENCIAGA Black Finger Toe ROC sneakers are made of recyclable materials, which is also a support for the fashion field where energy conservation and environmental protection are the first.
SPECTUSSHOECO. Day Trekker Lite (Eye Sole)
Website: WEAR
Price: 40,700 JPY
This pair of "five-toed shoes" may be different from our common Vibram FiveFingers, and it can be seen at a glance from the appearance - this pair of SPECTUSSHOECO. Day Trekker Lite It does not show the conventional "five-toe shape", but it is more like using the design concept of "five-toe shoes" to make a unique and creative transformation of the toe part of the sports shoes.
SPECTUSSHOECO. The new shoe brand, which has gradually gained popularity in the Japanese market, was founded by designer Toshinosuke Takehara. Before founding this brand, Takehara Toshinosuke had already tried to incorporate fashion elements into leather shoe design in Foot The Coacher's design; while SPECTUSSHOECO's creative protagonist has transformed into a sports shoe that focuses more on functionality.The Day Trekker Lite that appears in front of us now has the upper made of CORDURA® ripstop, Vibram professional outsole, POLIYOU® insole system with antibacterial properties, and… the BOA fast lace-up system that can bring the most direct convenience to people's lives. It can be said that this pair of SPECTUSSHOECO. Day Trekker Lite has long gone beyond the concept of "five-toed shoes" in people's impression, and it is not an exaggeration to call it a "functional assembly" created by Takehara Toshinosuke.
The question raised at the beginning of the article: Will "five-toed shoes" become a new trend in the near future? The answer I gave was optimistic, but not entirely certain. In fact, sports shoes and products specially designed for a certain sport are now in a stage of transition from "specialization to popularization", and some of them are already quite mature at this stage, such as basketball shoes, skateboard shoes, outdoor jackets, fishing vests, bicycle pants... Now their consumers are not just people with sports needs, but have a larger audience. As for the reason, it comes down to them having another identity as fashion items.
Recalling the process of these items being given a fashionable meaning, it is indispensable to the driving force of brands, designers, and influential KOLs, and to a certain extent, they themselves have a certain universality. Based on the above conditions, the "five-toed shoes" can actually be generally met - with the blessing of BALENCIAGA, Miyashita Takayuki, and SUICOKE, as well as the universality of "spreading fans" Gvasalia and other consumers who value comfort. Just imagine, when "five-toed shoes" are given fashion connotations by more brands, designers, and stylists, and more and more consumers have since accepted the dissemination of this style aesthetic, then maybe "five-toed shoes" really have the chance to become the next "hot product"?
#shoes# #Trendy style outfit# #Fashion# #Fashion# #Fashion Mingtan#
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