Up until recently, it was starkly minimal, fade-into-the-background shoes that were being hailed as a fashion status symbol.
But, skip to 2018 and an unlikely item that two decades ago would have been considered sartorial suicide is sweeping through the street style pack.
Enter: dad trainers.
Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, this style of shoe was worn exclusively by dads and, as such, became pigeonholed as the epitome of uncool.
Now though, those very same chunky, bulbous and vaguely orthopaedic-looking trainers have become the must have cool-girl purchase of the year.
So much so, that everyone from Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner, to Kaia Gerber, Kim Kardashian and Hailey Baldwin has adopted the thick-soled shoe.
But, exactly how did the dad trainer manage to shake off its tasteless reputation?
Like most trends, this one started on the catwalk where a love for all things ‘90s saw a return to golden-era sportswear and footwear that considered ugliness an aesthetic statement.
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