When the eternally-cool Japanese label Issey Miyake recently unveiled its upcoming Spring-Summer 2024 collection, there was one piece that instantly stood out among the rest: the Issey Miyake x New Balance MT10O, an elevated haute couture twist on a stripped-down NB sneaker from 2011, which featured minimal cushioning and an almost nonexistent sole. Made with “sensuous physicality and barefoot mobility” in mind, according to Issey Miyake designer Satoshi Kondo, it’s a lightweight, low-rise sneaker with a strikingly minimalistic style.
The spartan build of the New Balance MT10 is the perfect fit for Issey Miyake, a house famed for its clean lines and almost elemental purity. But the arrival of this barefoot-style shoe in a high-fashion format is also exactly on trend. In the wake of the big boots and chunky sneakers of previous seasons, we are now firmly in the era of the tiny shoe—from dainty loafers and ballet flats to low-top soccer kicks that pair best with massive, pooling denim. This is the next logical step in the trend: The silhouettes are already small, so now we’re seeing the soles themselves vanish to the point of invisibility. Get ready to be really, really close to the floor when you step out this summer.
It’s not just Issey Miyake that’s taken notice. Miu Miu, themselves of the most prominent viral ballet flat, recently released its own noticeably low-profile collab with New Balance. The New Balance x Miu Miu 530 SL, otherwise known as the 530 “Super Light,” is so absurdly low to the ground that the sole is virtually nonexistent. Considering that New Balance was instrumental in the resurgence of oversized dad shoes to begin with, it’s interesting to see them on the forefront of the skinny sole trend. While the brand still has plenty of chunky sneakers in the lineup, it’s now also forging ahead in the opposite direction.
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