Everyone loves a comeback story — except in fashion, where a trend’s revival can engender reactions from consternation to horror. We survived low-rise jeans once; now, they’re back. No one asked for the return of the marching band jacket, yet here it is. The exception to fashion’s carousel of horrors lies with footwear. Isabel Marant’s Bekett wedge sneaker is back? Cool! The Nike Air Rift is suddenly everywhere? Hey, great!
Not every revival is so obvious. Newfound nostalgia for the Balenciaga Arena is a surprise left turn from fashion’s still-mushrooming Y2K boom. And adidas’ Stan Smith has been around since its relaunch in the early 2010s when it was best known as your favorite designer’s favorite shoe (Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons). Today, vintage Arenas are a flex simply because no new models are produced. And the Stan Smith has morphed into every shape from a Mary Jane to a dress shoe. Not that the original is out of favor: Last year, Pierpaolo Piccioli wore a pair in the photo announcing his arrival as Balenciaga’s creative director.
Comeback kicks are born of many factors. They’re products of earnest interest sparked by a new generation rediscovering an old favorite, or culture circling back to where the OG always was. They’re singular, recognizable, maybe classic, maybe weird, and always — reliably — in style.
Prada America’s Cup
There was a time when Prada’s America’s Cup was the only designer sneaker that mattered. It wasn’t the first, but it was by far the most impactful: Although it debuted in the late ’90s as a grippy boat shoe, the America’s Cup was quickly adopted in New York City as a status symbol repped by JAY-Z, Camron, and fellow East Coaster Pharrell. Not even Miuccia Prada could have foreseen how these sneakers would inspire a culture so strong that there’s an Instagram page dedicated to documenting it.
Air Jordan 6 Retro “Infrared Salesman”
The “Infrared Salesman” Air Jordan 6 Retro takes its colorway from a sneaker showcased in ’90s Nike catalogs that was never actually produced. The slick, mostly blacked-out shoe is accented by hits of Nike’s signature “Infrared,” an eye-poppingly bright shade of red better known for making the Air Max 90 look extra punchy. The look might be new, but the feel is timeless — a perfect way to frame the inimitable silhouette of an all-time Jordan.
adidas Stan Smith
The nearly all-white tennis shoe is arguably more famous than its namesake, so much so that the actual Stan Smith titled his 2018 book Some People Think I’m A Shoe. That's not Smith’s fault. adidas’ Stan Smith is a design masterpiece that became a go-to for designers like Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons. That was in 2015, but the Stan is still relevant more than a decade later, inspiring such designers as EVERYONE’s Ryo Myoshi.
Vans Authentic
When you hear the phrase “skate shoe,” you probably think of the Vans Authentic. This is the ur-skate sneaker. The name was really just a marketing move made many years after the sneaker was born in the mid-1960s as Style #44, but it bears weight. Every low-top skateboarding shoe designed since has stood atop the Authentic’s shoulders, its low profile and perfectly balanced proportions guaranteeing it eternal life outside the skatepark.
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star High
Isn’t it crazy that the only sneaker emoji is a running shoe? It really should be the Chuck Taylor. Especially in its high-top canvas form, the Chuck Taylor is the perfect shoe. It’s as clean as a sneaker can be — this was once a cutting-edge basketball sneaker, remember — and goes with just about anything. There’s a reason this thing has lasted for — and outlasted — generations.
Nike Air Force 1 Mid
Hardly any shoe is more historic — or universal — than the Nike Air Force 1. Everyone has owned a pair at some point, no one has ever outgrown them, and they’ve been part of culture since they debuted in the early ’80s. But while the low-top is an all-timer, the higher-cut Mid has dipped in and out of taste. The AF1 Mid was hot about a decade ago. And influential collaborations with Supreme (and the NBA) and then-Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci make it feel of-the-moment now, too, when the aughts are on again.
Maison Margiela Replica German Army Trainer
The German Army Trainer was, as its name implies, produced as sportswear for the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces. Martin Margiela, the house’s brilliant founder, likely noticed young people purchasing the affordable sneaker from military surplus stores. His first versions were actual milsurp, their cheap canvas elevated by hand-scribbled ephemera. Nowadays, Maison Margiela’s GAT, as it’s known, is offered in a host of ultra-premium leather and suede makes.
Isabel Marant Bekett Wedge
If the wedge sneaker was an acquired taste back in 2011, when Isabel Marant debuted the Bekett, they’re an old friend by 2026. They’re surprisingly comfortable despite their wedge, and Blue Ivy Carter wore a pair at the end of last year — possibly the same pair that appeared in her mom’s mid-aughts music video for “Love On Top’ — that set resale markets aflame.
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