Predicting the next big wave in sneakers is always a crapshoot. Sure, brands can put millions of dollars behind complex marketing pushes for a silhouette, but you can’t force a shoe style to stick. Sometimes a trend rises with no rhyme or reason, or because the right celebrity wore the right shoe at the right time, or because hype fatigue heightens demand for a simple pair of black and white kicks you can throw on with any outfit. We’ve spent the last couple of months calling out the rise of the granddad shoe as an indicator as to where the culture is going, but some interesting stats suggest another major movement in the scene is upon us: against all odds, it’s ballet sneaker season.
To clarify, we don’t mean you need to go pick up a pair of satin ballet flats to stay up these days (though we’d never stop you–lace those ribbons up if you feel the urge). Rather, we’re seeing the rise of a style of sneaker that draws heavy inspiration from the pared-down construction of ballet shoes. These are kicks with slim uppers that conform to your foot, often an accentuated arch support, and a thin sole. Think of them as the aesthetic inverse of dad shoes, if not quite mom shoes themselves.
The shoe at the center of the trend is the aptly-named Ballerina by Adidas and Bad Bunny. An original silhouette that blends the Adidas Taekwondo with some tweaks drawing from ballet flats, it proved an instant success in a way we haven’t seen yet since the superstar first collaborated with adidas. Anything with Benito’s name on it (these literally do, emblazoned on the side) tends to sell out pretty quickly, but there was a unique fervor around the Ballerina and its three launch colorways (two neutrals in black and white and a gold rendition heavy on the Bruce Lee vibes). Trends don’t always come down to which shoes celebrities wear but it certainly doesn’t hurt for one of the biggest stars in the world to give ballet sneakers such a substantial seal of approval.
Speaking of the Taekwondo, it’s benefiting from the moment as well. While this silhouette was originally designed as a shoe for, you guessed it, taekwondo, the aesthetic similarities between it and ballet sneakers are strong. From a functional standpoint they largely serve the same purpose as ballet shoes (support stemming from a shoe that molds to your foot and keeps your sole low to the ground), plus what is taekwondo if not ballet for boys? The Stripes have leaned into the similarities with a pared-down incarnation of the Taekwondo called the Mei Ballet. It features an upper that bares most of the top of your foot to a lengthy lace window and long enough laces to provide ankle support as well.
Adidas isn’t the sole brand in the ballet sneaker game, though. Puma and Onitsuka Tiger have both leaned into it, both offering ballet-friendly versions of classic silhouettes in the Speedcat Ballet and Mexico 66 Ballet. Both trim down the uppers of reliable favorites and replace laces with straps. They’re exclusively available in women’s sizing, but personally we’d advise to never let something like that stop you from getting on the wave. It’s also worth noting that the Puma Speedcat itself has been wildly popular over the last year. While it’s not a ballet shoe (its origins are in motorsport) it shares the same sense of design and minimalism as ballet shoes, speaking to a broader desire in the scene for simpler, slimmer silhouettes these days.
Other brands are incorporating the influence of ballet shoes into silhouettes in more off-kilter ways. Salomon, for example, in a collaboration with Sandy Liang replaced the traditional lace system of the Speedcross 3 with a thick ribbon, getting in on the ballet moment without creating a shoe that strays too far from the aesthetic they’ve cultivated over the years.
Don’t take our word for it, though–the numbers don’t lie here. Regardless of your opinion on the resale market as an industry, StockX remains one of the most valuable hubs of trend data in the sneaker world. They recently reported that between February and March (around the time of the Bad Bunny Ballerina drop), sales of shoes featuring “ballet” or “ballerina” in the name increased well over a whopping 1,000%. That’s a lot of sales of a lot of shoes and certainly enough to warrant calling it to attention.
Trends are trends and there’s no telling if ballet sneakers are just having a moment or having a year. We won’t know until we get there. In any case, it’s a refreshing moment in a sneaker scene that’s been spinning its wheels over the same retros and reheated nachos over the last few years. Ballet sneakers are slim, sexy, and fun. They offer the chance to incorporate a style of sneaker that might be seen as traditionally feminine into more menswear-centric fits. They won’t bite. They’re far from gatekept and you don’t have to audition for Swan Lake for the right to lace up a pair.