I think we can all remember the first time we fell in love with a pair of kicks. From the flashy ones that made everyone in the playground jealous to the limited edition ones you went into your overdraft for, or even the everyday pair that looks good with just about anything, trainers can transform your outfit, your mood and most importantly, your confidence. Whether you’re a self-confessed sneakerhead or a single-style gal, we guarantee you're embroiled in a passionate love affair with at least one pair of trainers in your wardrobe. And ever since they've entered the fashion mainstream, becoming acceptable footwear in the workplace, at parties and even on the red carpet, we’ve seen a whole host of women wear them brilliantly and regain their style confidence. To celebrate trainers' innate ability to help their wearer feel empowered and strong, we asked four women to share their personal ‘Love Letter To Their Trainers’…
Ellen Atlanta, Writer & Creative Producer
Trainers are my own symbol of empowerment.
I fell in love with them in London. During hurried days, Tube delays, long days shopping and walks without stopping. They became an essential part of my city life and I stepped towards my dream career, sneakers first.
I met Sharmadean Reid MBE for the first time in my trainers. I had asked to interview her for my university project, but she turned the tables and offered me a job on the spot. Later on in my career, a pair of trainers was the first gift she ever got me. They were men’s, lilac, suede and as soft as anything. I wore them home that day.
At the Women’s March, I stood for girls all across the world in my trainers. They carried me across the city, protesting against the inequality that plagues us all. And they still carry me, day-to-day in my work across London, as I continue to champion girls and platform their stories.
We’ve called time on being restricted, uncomfortable and ‘proper’. This is no longer a boys’ club; we’re redefining what it looks like to be a successful woman. It’s that uptown/downtown balance; where freedom meets fashion. We’re claiming trainers as our own.
And does this love story have a happy ending? Of course. Because I know that there’ll be hundreds more future female CEOs, feet up at their desks, staring at a brand new pair of trainers that make them feel like they can take on the world. One step at a time.
Puma Tsugi Jun, £90, available at Schuh
Kate O'Donoghue, Lawyer, London Marathon Runner
The love affair you have with your first marathon trainers is unlike that of any other. At times you resent them and everything they represent – hours not spent in bed, miles not yet conquered and a premature stiffness of muscles out of sync with your age. But as the mileage clocks up and the time draws near, you look at them and think: Baby, We Were Born To Run.
I remember the bitter chill of January Saturday mornings. I’d begrudgingly get out of bed and check the weather, wishing the duvet would swallow me back up. As I stepped outside, the cold air would begin to immediately sting my exposed skin, slowly working its way through my Lycra. I’d start my running playlist (a complication of cheesy pop, Motown and angry rap), look down at my trainers and think, We Gotta Get Thru This. And we did – but usually with difficulty. The beginning was always rough. Body stiff and unwilling to cooperate, it felt like my trainers were willing me forward more than my limbs.
But on marathon day, I saw London like I’d never seen it before; I ran under skyscrapers Where The Streets Have No Name, usually jammed with buses and taxis, lined with adults and children cheering on every passing stranger. I crossed the finish line, equally broken and elated (mentally and physically) and grabbed my legs to make sure they were still there. I just ran a bloody marathon.
But the best part of running the marathon? Seeing joggers doing laps of the park and smugly thinking (à la Mick Dundee), "You call that a run?"
Puma Speed Ignite Netfit 2, £120, available at Puma.com
Kirsty Hathaway, Creative Director
It’s been a long winding road of on-again, off-again adoration. I mean, I know that I always adored trainers. Everything they stand for, everything they offer, how they make me feel and, of course, how they look.
Alas, we had an enforced sabbatical, me and my trainers. A sabbatical that was longer than I can now understand possible. You see, it wasn’t my choice, it was my career.
I moved down to London with a starry-eyed dream of getting into fashion and glossy magazines. Alas, as luck and fate would have it, in 2003 I started working at a succession of the most reputable and established fashion magazines. Now, things have changed since then, but in those days, trainers didn’t make much of an appearance in such places. Instead the most uncomfortable and impractical shoes were part of the armour us fashion editors all wore. And, I’m not going to lie, despite my love of shoes, there's little empowering about tottering around in shoes that weren't meant for walking.
After seven years of painful blisters, I started my own business and shed the fashion influenced uniform of old. This was a different kind of busy than I have ever experienced and trainers were more than my go-to. They were my new armour. They allow me to feel comfortable and thus confident. They allow me to get everywhere quickly (and I am always in a rush). They allow me to be on set one day and pitch to a CEO the next. They allow me to wear whatever I want, but never look overdressed.
So, while I still have about 100 pairs of heels stacked up and collecting dust, these are mostly for nostalgic reasons. Every day is trainers day for me. As every day there's a new adventure and you need your feet to be up to the challenge. As you need to be up for the challenge.
Puma Phenom Lo Satin, £85, available at Puma.com
Steffi Holtz, Theatre Production Assistant
The dawn of the fashion sneaker has probably been one of the best things to ever happen to female empowerment. Almost. Hear me out for a moment; as sneaker wearers we are finally on a level playing field with men, in the most literal way possible. With our feet firmly on the ground and not tottering on the edge of a snapped achilles tendon, we can feel powerful, secure and stylish all at once. It’s the school uniform theory applied to the adult stratum; everyone wearing ground-level shoes, everyone equal.
I am a smaller than average woman at 5'2 and spending most of your life at armpit height, speaking to people’s chests instead of their faces, can take its toll on your confidence. So I spent my early teenage years trawling shop shelves to find a size 3 heel that would both elevate my tiny stature into the average human dimension and be comfortable enough to sustain a whole day in the life of a normal-size being. It’s harder than you think. When the streetwear and limited edition fashion trainers trend started gaining attention, it seemed to be an overwhelmingly male-centric domain. I wanted to change that; I wanted to overturn the idea that only men were interested in trainers, so I bought my first pair of fashion sneakers. It was a real glass slipper moment for me; not only did the shoe fit my foot but it was also like the satisfying moment when you slot in the last piece of the jigsaw to marvel at the finished work. Almost simultaneously I cut loose the reins of my height anxieties and owned my space on the floor.
Ever since then I have been on a mission to find a sneaker for every occasion. My current pursuit is to find the perfect trainer to wear to an awards ceremony. I am very humbled to have been honoured with a 'Tonic Award' – this award was set up to recognise the achievements of women who are changing the face of UK theatre. Can I get away with that? Well, my thinking is: In a world where women are still instructed to wear high heels to work for no reason other than their gender, choose sneakers.
Puma Muse EP, £79.99, available at Foot Asylum
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