"More specifically, toes encased in rubber to create a kind of foot-glove-trainer. The shoes are made by an Italian company, Vibram, and they're called FiveFingers. Why five fingers instead of five toes? I don't know. It doesn't matter. They're cool now. Vibrams used to be known for making kind of niche running shoes, but their toe shoe has since become all the rage albeit somewhat divisively among trendy young people."
"As with many trends, celebrities started wearing them, then magazines started writing about them, and now every cool twentysomething you know is sporting them on TikTok. While they were launched back in 2006, it took pop star Doechii wearing FiveFingers in her music video for Anxiety in April this year for the ball to start to roll. Three months later, K-pop star Jennie Kim of Blackpink was papped wearing a pair at Seoul international airport."
Vibram's FiveFingers are rubber toe shoes that resemble a foot-glove and are polarizing for their unconventional appearance and the awkward process of fitting each toe. The design aims to mimic barefoot running and is reported to feel like wearing nothing. The shoe launched in 2006 but saw a surge in popularity in 2025 after celebrities like Doechii and Jennie Kim wore them and magazines championed them. Fashion outlets and collaborations, notably a proposed Balenciaga partnership, have amplified their cultural visibility. Fans praise comfort and barefoot sensation; many observers remain unsettled by the aesthetic.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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