Paris Fashion Week Men’s brought on a slew of new industry shake-ups for the spring ’19 season. For starters, Virgil Abloh made his highly-anticipated debut as artistic director of Louis Vuitton Homme, fusing streetwear and luxury on a rainbow gradient runway. Kim Jones’ first collection for Dior Men was also anxiously awaited, where the creative director explored trending silhouettes like dad sneakers and sock shoes, while introducing textured loafer-hybrids. Meanwhile, collaborations such as Nike at Sacai and Adidas x Y-3 held the sneaker realm down.
Here, FN rounds up six of the top shoes throughout the week.
Dior Men’s Subtle Dad Sneakers
For his debut at Dior Men (strategically changed from Dior Homme to signal the transition), Jones did not avoid the key trends but did make them his own. In the dad sneaker realm, the designer took a much subtler approach with a sole just thick enough to fit the dad shoe genre but not so chunky that they couldn’t be paired with a crisp off-white suit. In neutrals like white and gray, the shoes tied the look together accordingly.
Watch on FN
Louis Vuitton High-Tops
Anytime Abloh puts his touch into the sneaker category, it’s bound to be a moment. For his first collection at Louis Vuitton Homme, the multifaceted creative went for a high-top sneaker with a velcro closure across the tongue — a silhouette mildly reminiscent of an Air Jordan. Louis Vuitton branding along the midsole highlighted the luxury brand along with Abloh’s signature touch of a hang tag.
Louis Vuitton Oxfords With Neon Laces
In addition to sneakers, Abloh had the opportunity to show off more of his dress shoe side on the spring ’19 runway. A pair of loafers were a sly addition to the mix, its neon green laces boldly contrasting against the black leather while seamlessly matching gloves of the same luminous hue.
Paul Smith’s Two-Tone Loafers
Paul Smith stuck to his classic menswear approach with an array of tailored looks paired with dress shoes. Particularly, the label’s two-tone loafers featuring a black outsole with a white upper were a practical pair. Meanwhile, the designer also inverted the checkerboard color combination, should the opposite scheme be more fitting.
Sacai x NikeLab
Sacai x NikeLab are a double-dose of all the sneaker’s foundational parts: dual tongues, dual laces and even two Nike checks on the outsole. The vivid colorways among the styles make for a rich palette including tangerine against lime green and cherry red with ocean blue.
Alexander McQueen’s Red-Heeled Loafers
With loafers naturally dominating menswear footwear options, some fashion houses have found new and exciting ways to reinvigorate them this season. Take for example Alexander McQueen’s square-toed option, which upon first glance seem like another black leather shoe. A closer look reveals that the label pasted on a fire engine-red heel should any gentleman desire something more.
See more of the top shoes of Paris Fashion Week Men’s spring ’19 by clicking through the gallery.
Want more?
Heron Preston Just Debuted This Unexpected Collaboration With Nike
Bella Hadid Is the Perfect Poster Girl For Dior Homme’s Non-Binary New Look
Li-Ning Makes Paris Fashion Week Men’s Debut for Spring ’19 With Chunky Sneaker Explosion
