Some trends come and go. You know, we got the 90s it girl style, then the Y2K glitz and glam, and the bulky dad shoes. But some sneaker trends manage to come and go in steady cycles! One of these trends is monochrome sneakers. You see, we love a flashy pair of multicolor kicks, we really do. Sometimes though, you need a pair that goes smoothly with your fit. And what’s better than a tonal pair to go with your tonal fit? Exactly. Now, let’s take a look at what this style brought to the industry, and why you need it!
But First, the King of Tonal Style Award Goes to…
Kanye West! Really, can anybody argue with that? The man certainly knows how to make a monochrome outfit look interesting, if not flat-out controversial. You see, Kanye is famous for his tonal fits, and he certainly knows how to flaunt them. But his tonal vibe doesn’t stop at his personal style. It actually extends to his Yeezy line, and you can see that clearly during Season 10!
That’s not only it though, because the whole Adidas Yeezy line is mainly tonal. And if you don’t know the whole history of the partnership, check this out. It kinda makes it clear how important the monochrome vibe is for Ye. In fact, one of the most valuable Yeezys on the aftermarket is the all-red Air Yeezy 2 Red October! The pair is currently worth about $12,900 in resale.
Monochrome Sneakers – A Trend We Can Get Behind!
For real though, some trends are so out of pocket that we wouldn’t wanna rock at any given time. However, a pair of monochrome sneakers -especially if it’s a classic– goes a long way! Now obviously, the industry agrees, especially with some big collabs coming in tonal colorways. Now, let’s talk about one of the most famous collabs that turned out to be pretty colorful. This collaboration was sort of an introduction to what ended up being a long-term plan!
Pharrell Williams x Adidas Superstar “Supercolor” & Samba
The year is 2015, and Pharrell’s Adidas collaboration is one of the hottest in the industry since 2014. Now, one of the drops that we got was a full line of monochromatic Superstars. These babies came in enough colors –50 to be exact– for everyone to find a pair they like! But that’s not all, because 8 years later, Pharrell and Adidas struck again with another batch of monochrome sneakers. This time, the star silhouette was the Adidas Samba that made quite the comeback in the last couple of years!
Supreme on the Down Low
You know why we like Supreme? Because it’s unpredictable as heck. Just when you think that they’ll go for a very popping silhouette, they go for the mother of classics: Nike Air Force 1. Not only that, but they really did the bare minimum with these Air Force 1s. However, in addition to the white and black colorways, we have the wheat colorway. This one actually slaps if you ask us. However, that’s not all, because it seems like Supreme has a brown colorway coming in during the FW23 season!
Mo’ Monochrome Sneakers… and Then Some Mo’!
Another silhouette that certainly earned a spot in our discussion is the New Balance 550. From Rich Paul’s simple collab to the brand’s own drops, the kicks are certainly worth having. And while it’s a lowkey contribution to the monochrome sneakers trend, the 550s still are making a bang. You see, the silhouette looks like it would successfully rock a tonal colorway… and it does.
Finally, we can’t talk tonal footwear without mentioning the Yeezy Slides, Foam Runners, and Nike Calm. These silhouettes put the mono in monochrome, no joke. But that’s not all, because the Swoosh is taking things up a notch with the Nike Calm Mule! You see, the concept here is probably to have Crocs-like footwear, minus the embarrassment for some. (We’d totally rock the Crocs, but who are we to judge?)
Now, we hope you enjoyed our little tonal break! But if you wanna up your game and see what more the industry has to offer, we got you. Our blog will give you all the latest sneaker and sneaker botting news with a click. The only question is, are you ready to dive deep into kicks and bots?
