In the pantheon of fashion-approved footwear, few styles transcend seasons quite like trainers. Comfortable enough to be stomped around all day in while also being stylish enough to garner attention all on their own, trainers are to footwear what lingerie is to fashion — the unsung heroes of our wardrobes.
This year alone, there has been the Wales Bonner and Adidas collaboration, each drop of which has sold like hotcakes, the revival of Adidas Sambas and now, there is the return of Onitsuka Tiger’s Mexico 66 trainers, which have been spotted on the feet of every fashion insider worth their salt.
Their return can be dated back to last September. During Copenhagen Fashion Week, which can be credited with the revived sartorial cache of stomper boots, organza dresses and ballet flats in recent years, the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 trainers were juxtaposed with oversized suiting and slouchy jeans-and-shirt combinations. They lent a casual hand to outré ensembles and offered a touch of sartorial jazz-hands to the more pared-back get-ups.
Sure enough, where the Copenhagen set go, everybody else is sure to follow and before long, Hailey Bieber was spotted pairing a pair of black Mexico 66s with slouchy jeans a fitted Prada top, while Bella Hadid wore hers with black drainpipe jeans and an oversized trench coat. Kaia Gerber has championed the Danish-approved yellow colourway, while Addison Rae has been spotted wearing the white. In short, these are trainers that are set for quite the trajectory.
Of course, Onitsuka Tiger’s Mexico 66 trainers have a storied history. The earliest iteration of the trainer everybody is wearing now came by way of the Onitsuka Cortez, which was first released in 1969. In 2002, the brand reimagined the trainer into the Mexico 66 silhouette everybody is championing now and in 2003, Uma Thurman firmly cemented the shoes’ desirability when she wore them as The Bride in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol I.
After a brief hiatus from the fashion map, the brand and its now-cult trainers’ return has been confirmed. On TikTok, the #OnitsukaTiger has been viewed more than 200 million times, while Google Trends has recorded a 200% spike in searches for the brand’s Mexico 66 trainers in the past month alone. In its seasonal trend presentation, Net-a-Porter confirmed that it was predicting big things for the label in the coming months.
These are trainers that are as wearable in the colder months as they are in the warmer months. They’ll see you throughout the winter and well into summer, all while never having to compromise on those all-important style points. We’ll be wearing ours with slouchy tailored trousers and cosy, chunky knits during the coming colder months and, once the sun puts its hat back on, will swap out the knits for T-shirts and cardigans.