High fashion hasn’t always gotten footwear right. For decades, most models tied to couture houses carried the personality of a club promoter and the price tag of a computer.
There have been some bright spots. House heads like Demna, Rick Owens, and Virgil Abloh have injected reference and taste into the oft gaudy space. These designs transcend the runway and compete with runners and retros for cool cache. So, who has done it best?
Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1s? Raf Simons x Adidas Ozweegos? Dior x Air Jordan 1s? Collaborating with a major footwear brand is a cheat code. Yes, they’re all great, but this list isn’t for those. We’re here strictly for the pure, unassisted creations of couture’s top houses.
Diving deep into the archives of Maison Martin Margiela, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and more, these are The Top 10 Luxury Sneakers of All Time.
10. Balenciaga Triple S
What’s the deal with dad shoes? In the early 2010s, hype, hipsters, and haute couture were subverted by way of the Normcore movement. Initially, it was young adults trading in zip hoodies for oxford shirts. Eventually, it speared through sneaker culture by way of grey New Balances and Nike Air Monarchs.
Then-Balenciaga creative director Demna took the chunky dad shoe trend to a new extreme. Enter 2017’s Triple S: an aged multi-material runner that retailing at $795 (today it will run you $1,150 for a new pair). Demna doubled - or tripled - down by making them look even more worn out and enormous than your dad’s favorite lawn-cutting sneaks.
As polarizing as it was,The Triple S was a status symbol that provided the foundation for an era of Balenciaga footwear and apparel that widened the lens on Middle America staples.
9. Maison Margiela Replica
Common Projects Achilles and Lanvin Toe Caps have came and went. The Maison Margiela Replica is on a quarter century run. Released in 1999 as an homage to the Adidas German Army Trainer originally designed for, you guessed it, German army training during World War II, the Replicas reworked an archival classic before it was an industry standard.
The Replica has endured many eras and trends. Paint splatters, hole punch perforations, and patent leather hits have all helped it cross over into streetwear over the years. Today, it remains a hallmark of the quiet luxury movement. Not everyone loves the Replica but everyone knows it.
8. Louis Vuitton LV Trainer
When diving deep into the Virgil Abloh archives, the Louis Vuitton LV Trainer doesn’t top any of his best output at Air Jordan or Nike. Nevertheless, it’s worthy of praise.
A standout from his debut season as artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear in 2019 pulled pieces from ‘80s Avia basketball shoes and gave them a lux upgrade by way of calf leather and monogram branding. Just as early streetwear relied on parody as a form of levity, Abloh used high fashion as a means of elevating foundational ideals.
Aspirational kids and financially endowed adults rocked the LV Trainer religiously. The youth made it their own by way of stacked denim and streetwear, while rich folks flexed it on vacations and fancy dinners.
7. Visvim FBT
A trick we all tend to tell ourselves when pursuing an expensive purchase is the notion that we’ll “wear it forever.” Visvim FBTs are the perfect example. Half moccasin, half sneaker, all the way awesome, the fringed footwear from Japan has been tried and true since they debuted in 2001.
The hybrid mocs have defined the brand and aged like fine wine. As much as Americana fades in and out of the Western zeitgeist, it’s ironically always on point when reimagined through the Far East.
6. Balenciaga Arena
Worn regularly on the feet of Kanye West in the 2010s, Balenciaga went from being dormant in men’s fashion for a full century to the go-to sneaker for hip-hop’s leading man.
The tonal, tumbled leather sneakers were much more refined than couture contemporaries of the time, stacking strikingly with skinny jeans and biker denim. West and then-protoge Abloh would make the Arena a fixture of their genre-blurring outfits, dressing them up with blazers and down with graphic tees. The Arena introduced the 1919 institution to a new consumer and a new era.
5. Louis Vuitton Don
Despite a sad streak of statements and patchy output as of late, Mr. West was absolutely cooking creatively in multiple domains in a manner that’s still yet to be matched for the better part of the 21st century.
In 2009, West released both the Nike Air Yeezy and a range of sneakers with Louis Vuitton. Gaining favor from Mark Parker and Marc Jacobs, the latter luxury play presented three unique silos named after his close circle of friends. Though the strapped up Jasper and boat-shoe Hudson hit at the time, the Don has aged the best.
Inspired by the original Dune jacket and named after his longtime road manager, Don C, the Louis Vuitton Don was plush, premium, and ahead of its time. All-red, mauve, cream, and anthracite palettes played to the boom-bap ethos and luxury taste buds that made Kanye a one-of-one. At the time, the Dons were readily available in LV stores but aspirational in price. All these years later, the $875 to $960 MSRP feels pretty reasonable.
4. Maison Margiela Future
Introduced in 2011, the sleek-yet-protruding high tops took swag era ethos to a place more gallery than gaudy. A smooth leather body, exaggerated ankle straps, and a tongue eerily similar to the Reebok Answer I all coexisted for a statement sneaker that was refined in the era of bulky basketball retros.
Beloved by Atlanta rappers and Justin Bieber, the Futures landed like spaceships beneath drop crotch pants and skinny jeans. In 2013, they became the weapon of choice for Ye on the Yeezus Tour when rocking a mask made by the same house. A dozen years later, they’ve been reclaimed by Playboi Carti and Co. as the stage sneaker on the Antagonist Tour.
3. Rick Owens Geobasket
Rick Owens’ infamous workout consists of incline leg press, full-body cable pulls, and incredibly loud techno music. Famously, it does not include jump shots or defensive slides.Nevertheless, the ripped designer who redefined goth garb had a sweet spot for the Nike Dunk. He flipped the classic sneaker in his own dark way in 2006 by way of the Geobasket.
Edgy, eerie, and hardcore, the intensified take on the Peter Moore model was not exactly adored by Beaverton brass. However, it was a hit with the kids who saw Owens’ spooky vision of just what fashion’s new uniform could be. Ironically enough, it’s professional athletes and rock-inspired rappers who claim the Geobasket for clout all these years later.
2. Gucci Tennis 84
At the center of sneaker culture and luxury fashion are hustlers. In the early ‘80s, crack era entrepreneurs defined cool and exemplified aspiration. European tracksuits, Cuban lynx necklaces, and Italian sneakers spoke to chicness and toughness that only drive and money could buy. Atop the totem pole, and beneath velour sweatpants, was the Gucci Tennis 84.
Detail driven and country club classy, the Tennis 84 relied on the softest of leathers and the smoothest of stances. A low top cut, embroidered upper, and red rope laces laid perfectly atop a crisp green sole. Everything awesome about an Adidas Rod Laver or FILA Tennis was taken ten notches up in swag and elegance on this Gucci serving.
Infamously, Jay Z and Reebok released an on-the-nose homage roughly two decades later with the S. Carter. Gucci has released occasional retros in small batches since the debut in ‘84, but another run feels ripe for the moment.
1. Prada America's Cup
Designed for the 1997 Luna Rossa sailing team, the patent leather pair is performance innovation in its most pristine fashion, derived for white collar competition on the type of raceboats most of us only see on Bravo.
The America’s Cup not only defies time but scales style. Competitive sailors from Italy, fashion girlies on TikTok, and street dudes in Detroit can all make the America’s Cups their own. It's the perfect Prada shoe in any era, ripped off by FILA at the height of its second wind in 2008 and brought back by the design house on its customization platform for its 25th anniversary in 2022.
The Pale Girls said it best. Weddings. Funerals. Job interviews. Beefs. The America’s Cup does it all. With that type of versatility, that $950 price tag suddenly doesn’t seem so bad.