The low-profile sneaker is now your wardrobe’s high performer

Fashion thrives on contrasts, with each cycle serving as a counterpoint to its predecessor. Remember the late 2010s? The era of slim jeans and chunky dad sneakers. Now, the 2020s are all about baggy fits paired with the skinniest sneakers we’ve seen in years. A far cry from the stomp-friendly styles like the Balenciaga Triple S and all things Yeezy, sneakers now are low, narrow, soft.

Guess what’s the hottest shoe on the Lyst Index for Q1 of 2025? The Adidas Taekwondo—a narrow slip-on sneaker inspired by the martial art form from which it draws its name. While the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 remains a cult favourite, its sibling, the Onitsuka Tiger Tai-Chi, which cemented itself in pop culture as the shoe of choice for the bride trying to find Bill to kill, remains popular as ever. The Puma Speedcat’s wild popularity has now led to creative tie-ups with Rosé of Blackpink, A$AP Rocky, and No/Faith Studios. The Jacquemus + Nike Moon shoes, too, reinforce the trend—a soft, unstructured sneaker that feels almost sock-like.

To explain this moment of low, light-as-air sneakers that function more as wardrobe neutrals than statement kicks, we’ll need to rewind back to 2023 and another Adidas shoe—the Samba. A flat, clean, minimalist shoe inspired by the brand’s football cleats, the Samba became the world’s most ubiquitous shoe—before Rishi Sunak happened to it.

Now people are literally rocking real cleats—studs and all—on the street, with Rosalía wearing the New Balance football boots en route to her Met Gala 2025 fitting. This made way for the reissue of other popular football sneakers, which then led to the recent surge in popularity of the Nike Total 90 with its football-shoe soul and off-centre lacing. (There’s also a snakeskin pattern available.)

Our current obsession with skinny sneakers, however, is a direct result of one specific hybrid-shoe trend—the sneakerina. Combining the soft, moulded, glove-like silhouette of a ballet shoe with the street smarts of a sneaker, this was everything you could want. The sneakers that followed retained their ghost.

Miu Miu, which gave us those satin ballet flats in 2022 that looked too dainty for the street, collaborated with New Balance on the Miu Miu x New Balance 530SL, which then spawned the New Balance 204L Mushroom.

The low-profile sneaker isn’t just a sportswear-brand phenomenon either. Luxury labels, too, are extending the shelf life of the trend; there’s Maison Margiela’s Sprinters, the Gucci Shift sneakers, the Loewe Flow Runners, the Dries Van Noten low leather sneakers, and the Prada Monte Carlo sneakers, to name just a few.

Clearly, the best foot forward is one hugged by a soft, slim shoe that, literally and figuratively, maintains a low profile.

Below, our picks: