The improbable fashion for soccer cleats in the city

We thought we'd seen it all when it came to athletic shoes worn in the city . We knew about tennis shoes, of course. Sneakers, from the historic Chuck Taylor by Converse (originally designed for hitting the court) to the Air Jordan. Vans skate models, Salomon or Asics running shoes ... But recently, an unlikely trend has appeared on the streets of New York: football boots. Yes, we're talking about cleats, the molded ones, the very ones that Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé, the two stars of Paris Saint-Germain, will be donning to face Botafogo this June 20th in the Club World Cup.

Also read: How running shoes invaded our streets

The phenomenon, dubbed #BootsOnlySummer on TikTok, has reached celebrities like Rosalia, recently spotted in a Balmain dress and a pair of New Balance cleats. Italian sportswear brand UnoZero even felt compelled to post a warning on its website to those considering its shoes: "The studs at the base of your boots provide traction on grass or turf, but not on asphalt, concrete, or other hard surfaces. When you take them out of their element, you risk damaging the studs, affecting their performance and longevity. " Not to mention the serious risks... of slips and blisters!

But Gerard, a German "content creator" we met in the aisles of Pitti Uomo, the menswear trade show in Florence, couldn't care less. " They're stylish, aren't they?" he tells us, pointing to his pair of Adidas Copa Mundials - which are, admittedly, arguably the most beautiful cleats ever designed. An absolute classic created in 1979 and worn on the pitch by legends Diego Maradona and Zinédine Zidane. "I was looking for a shoe that stood out from the crowd," confides the thirty-year-old. "When I started seeing people in soccer cleats on social media, it made me want them! I didn't know anything about them, so I searched the internet for the most popular models and I settled on these, which are quite thin, and therefore rather elegant. What's more, they're made of leather ( kangaroo, editor's note) !" It's certainly not the most comfortable shoe in the world, and you have to get used to it, especially when walking on cobblestones, to avoid slipping.

In Florence, while sneaker brands remain loyal to fairly slim "retro" sneakers and running shoes, the trend is catching on. As evidenced by the grand return of Bikkembergs, the brand launched by Dirk Bikkembergs, the Belgian designer who was part of the cult " Antwerp Six ." In the 2000s, this football fan founded his own club, Bikkembergs Fossomobrone, and repurposed its codes in his collections, achieving great success with football boots featuring small studs, like those designed for artificial turf. Acquired by the Chinese group Canudilo, the brand is experiencing a comeback. At Pitti, it is presenting several pairs co-designed with the Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, who had been lost for some time despite a stint alongside Kanye West at Yeezy (this comeback is obviously causing a lot of talk). Shoes, sold for €230, and already available for sale, sizes 45 and 46 are out of stock… Also in Florence, Pantafola d'Oro, an Italian brand founded in Ascoli Piceno in the 1950s, is rejuvenating its image this season thanks to a collaboration with the South African designer Thebe Magugu, who designs jerseys, cleats, and “lifestyle” models. From the very first hours of the show, professional buyers showed a definite interest in the cleats in urban versions.

These new products should soon be populating store shelves. But the industry champion, Nike, doesn't intend to be left behind and is relaunching its iconic Total 90, created in the 2000s, among other brands in high-end multi-brand stores. The brand with the comma also took the opportunity to release a new collection earlier this month, called Cryoshot, inspired by its football boot archives but with a classic sole. "These are the kinds of models that should sell next year rather than the 'real' ones, which are a micro-trend. In the current climate, I doubt any stores will stock cleats," an American department store buyer confirmed.

"This craze for football aesthetics is a continuation of what we've been seeing for the past few seasons," says Sophie Jordan, men's buying director at Mytheresa. "While sneakers with thin soles and narrow uppers perform very well, especially in retro colors, it's logical that original models also attract consumers!" Just like the club jerseys that young girls and boys wear every day. A look that's being called "Blokecore" on social media, inspired by that of the fans of the 2000s who, at the time, wore Adidas' Samba. The tennis shoe without a doubt the most seen on the streets in recent years!