WHEN JEAN TOUITOU, founder and creative director of clean-cut Parisian clothing line A.P.C., attended the Élysée Palace at the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron, he wore sneakers. Most of us would reflexively lace on dressier footwear for such an occasion, but Mr. Touitou went with his everyday look. “I don’t see myself in formal shoes anymore,” he said. “Even if I have something very formal on I will wear a neutral sneaker.” Unsurprisingly, when launching his brand’s first sneaker line this spring, he chose just such a neutral shoe as its signature style: understated in gray and white, minimal and retro-looking.
Uncomplicated sneakers like A.P.C.’s new model are causing a quiet riot in the sneaker world. Somewhere between puritanically plain Adidas Stan Smiths and fussy neon Nike Flyknits, these trainers occupy an aesthetically pleasing middle ground. Employing ’70s-inspired details like mesh panels, sturdy tread soles and tapered toes, the shoes hark back to the trainers that jogging enthusiasts relied on back then, without looking cloyingly retro. Rendered in neutral palettes, these throwbacks offer a stylish step up from your old clunky running shoes.
Which is not to say these shoes are blah. Like a runner’s vest, the laces on A.P.C.’s sneakers are highlighted by reflective material. Brooklyn-label Greats added pops of mustard and navy blue to its sizably soled sneaker, and Spalwart’s shoes elevate a familiar nylon and suede composition with a tasteful color scheme of grays.
When Tyler Haney, the founder of easygoing active brand Outdoor Voices, first saw Spalwarts on a passerby in Paris a few years ago, it was the waffle-tread sole that first drew her in. The eagle-eyed Ms. Haney liked that the sneaker “felt a little bit nostalgic,” and was a “recreational shoe” not solely for athletics: “It doesn’t scream or shout, ‘I am just for running.’”
Write to Jacob Gallagher at Jacob.Gallagher@wsj.com