Instagram Is Now Influencing the Way Sneakers Are Designed

Food trends live and die on Instagram – remember rainbow bagels and unicorn toast? – and entire business models have staked their claim  on looking good for the ‘gram; think the Black Tap, whose monstrous milkshake creations draw day-long lineups, has earned the restaurant expansion into four locations across the US. Now the influence of a good ‘gram has moved beyond fickle food trends and into shoe design.

Traditionally, sneakers have been designed so that the toe of the shoe points upwards in an elfin manner – the technical term is “toe spring” – but the Adidas Deerupt, which launches today, was designed with almost zero toe spring. In addition, the upper is comprised of “ultra-flexible mesh” specifically designed to form a smooth, sleek silhouette when the wearer points their toe down to photograph the shoes.

“We increasingly see Instagram pictures where people shoot their sneakers with their foot planted down, making sure that the toe is pressed down,” Oddbjorn Stavseng, a design director at Adidas told High Snobiety. “So when you see Deerupt, you’ll see this same ‘toe-down’ effect, which was a purposeful design choice.”

The rest of the shoe features a layer of “stretch grid webbing” that comes from the material used in the shoe’s midsole. “It’s got such an impactful visual quality that it seemed a shame that we shouldn’t explore that, and really, take it to the next level and see how it would be re-envisioned for the future,” James Thompson, a Global Senior Designer for Adidas Originals told High Snobiety.

Hypebeasts, rejoice. And may the ‘likes’ be forthcoming.