When I was tasked with unearthing the trainer trends that are taking over in 2023, I was excited. Excited because I didn’t know what I would find. Although I’m very much a shoe person, trainers wouldn’t be my specialist subject in University Challenge. Of course, I own and love to wear several pairs of trainers, but I would never say they’re particularly trend-led. Moreover, they’re trainer styles I’ve worn since my teenage years; classic kicks that work with my aesthetic as opposed to defining it. Still, I believe I can work this to my advantage. When it came to discerning the most important trainer trends of 2023, I knew I could do so without bias. Instead of already having an idea of what these trends would be and what they’d look like, I was completely open and eager to see which sneaker trends would come through as the most prevalent organically. So I hunkered down for what I knew would be a good few hours of research.
Spanning the runways to street style, Instagram to sales stats, I left no sneaker stone unturned. As so often happens, I got a little carried away, and eight hours later, I had found seven trainer trends I believed would set the footwear tone for the year ahead. Taking my findings to some experts on the subject for confirmation, I’ve detailed the need-to-know trainers for the season ahead below. Some are specific styles, some are movements, and others are general aesthetics. However, if you’re the trainer obsessive I suspect you are, you’ll want to make room in your wardrobe for all of them. Sorry about that.