Where do snoafers actually come from?

With the era of Hype Culture definitively over and the aesthetic of quiet luxury on the brink of trend extinction, sportswear brands had to find a new way to stand out. Enter the Snoafer, a shoe that combines the elegance of a loafer with the comfort of a sneaker, the perfect compromise for those still reluctant to give up the soft soles of sports shoes but wanting to experiment with more sophisticated looks. Although heavily mocked, its debut (so far only on social media, with a market release scheduled for next autumn) made more noise than any collaboration in recent months: the New Balance 1906L quickly became one of the brand's most divisive drops. For the first time on the runway at Junya Watanabe FW24 show, New Balance’s snoafer at Fashion Week opened the doors to a new aesthetic. Although, as we will see, it is not the first of its kind. 

Credit @patheticfashion on IG

Credit @real_housewives_of_clapton on IG

Credit @patheticfashion on IG

In an interview with Dazed, the designers of the 1906L (Charlotte Lee and Lani Perry, senior designer and senior product manager for New Balance) explained that the Snoafer responds to the growing demand for items that combine formal wear with comfort. «We knew from the offset that this would be an unseriously serious concept,» the designers said about the conspicuous amount of memes that flooded the internet following the release. Beyond the irony and practicality, what makes the snoafer a perfect candidate to become the next it-shoe of the season is the historical moment in which it was conceived. In the wake of Hype Culture’s demise, in the latest year all the brands that previously thrived on it had to reinvent themselves: Timberland found new life by relaunching the 6-inch and the Boat Shoes, Salomon began collaborating with smaller, more “feminine” brands like Sandy Liang, and New Balance explored new silhouettes with the 1906L. As it often happens in the fashion world, a sector divided between small innovators and large capitalisers, independent brands got there first, with customisation. 

Miu Miu FW99

Miu Miu FW99 Credit BAD MOUTH

Laura e Deanna Fanning per Kiko Kostadinov

Laura e Deanna Fanning per Kiko Kostadinov

Laura e Deanna Fanning per Kiko Kostadinov

Simone Rocha

Cecilie Bahnesen

Agata Panucci @agatapanucci

Ottolinger

Caterina Mongillo @metagirl.studio

Sandy Liang x Salomon

Comme des Garçons x Nike

«I often tried to hide this aesthetic because it wasn’t accepted in the sneaker world,» said Caterina Mongillo, a freelance designer who spoke with us on the rise of hyper-feminine sneakers. Looking closely, the first designers to experiment with the shape of sneakers by adding more formal details were all women, from emerging creatives like the Italians Mongillo and Agata Panucci, to established talents like Laura and Deanna Fanning for Kiko Kostadinov, Cecilie Bahnesen (who presented a collaboration with New Balance in the latest collection), Simone Rocha, Ottolinger and even Rei Kawakubo, who created a pair of sporty heels with Nike for Comme des Garçons FW21. Without even straying too far from luxury fashion, even Miuccia Prada embraced the trend long before New Balance, with the bubble sole mary janes for FW99. 

For now, snoafers are proving to be real money-makers: according to the latest report by Future Market Insights, the slip-on shoes market was worth $151 million in 2022, and it is expected to approach $213 million by 2032. New Balance's 1906L marks a clear departure from the sneaker world for a brand that was once a flag bearer, yet we could see the signs of this transformation well before this new drop. In womenswear, with the rise of balletcore and hybrid mary-janes; in menswear, with the entry of men’s ballerinas. Even Kanye, who built an empire with sneakers, abandoned more classic sports shoes in favour of a much less conventional - much less conventional - pair of socks. During the pandemic, the entire fashion system was only wearing Birkenstock Boston and Crocs: if until then comfort was a factor to consider but to hide from those we shook hands with in the office or greeted on Zoom, now snoafers make us feel free and shamelessly comfy. As it should be in 2024.