With the renewed spirit and optimism of American fashion surrounding the Presidential Inauguration, there are bound to be a few dedications, even and especially from outside the U.S.
For its fall ’21 men’s and women’s ready-to-wear collection, Marni found a way to subtly pay homage to Vice President Kamala Harris’s favorite shoe: the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star.
To be clear, the shoes are not an official collaboration between the Italian fashion label and the Nike-owned, American sneaker brand. It’s also not the first time that the style has made it into Marni’s collections. But it’s impossible not to see the similarities between the footwear. Marni’s version takes the classic lace-up, high-top style with the signature white rubber toe and give it a strong exclamatory point, plus slick patent leather. Throw in a few heel versions, and the shoe is a wild re-imagination of a sneaker staple.
The shoes, which came in both flat styles (that resembled a sneaker-ballet flat hybrid) and high heel sneaker-bootie versions, were paired with plenty of colorful knits and coats. A fuchsia-and-purple sweater with a portrait neckline matched a long taffeta skirt, and asymmetrical puffer coats draped over. The ultimate homage to vice presidential fashion came from a pair of wide-leg crocheted pants — a garment that looks like it’s straight out of the Ella Emhoff knitwear collection. The second trousers draped loosely over the sneaker-flats, only revealing the pointy rubber toes.
When she’s not in sneakers, Harris favors a sleek pointy-toed heel from Manolo Blahnik — not unlike the silhouette in Marni’s hybrid footwear. Would the VP wear them? She just might, especially if her runway model stepdaughter gave them a chance.
