If there’s one thing I know about fashion right now, it’s that trainers are in. Of course, they’ve never really been out—there as core a footwear option as you’ll find—but the last couple of years has seen trainers become more than just a comfortable shoe solution. It seems we’ve all become a little bit obsessed with sneakers; even I, a person who seldom wore them before 2024, have treated myself to some fresh pairs. Like so many others, I opted for white Adidas Sambas, but as the appetite for fashionable trainer trends has increased, so have the shopping options.

Now, the market is saturated with sneakers. While certain pairs have always been the subject of waitlists, there are a great number of trainers that are near impossible to get your hands on right now. Sambas are one of them, as well as Onitsuka Tigers and Nike’s various collaborations, but lately I’ve found one trainer trend has been harder to track down than the others.

I first started noticing the red trainer trend pick up at the start of the year with Adidas’s suede Gazelles came back into play. The style isn’t new but the volume of colours the brand explored with its 2024 release certainly felt so. While I do see a lot of green pairs on social media, it’s red trainers that are taking over right now. Red shoes as a whole are trending hard this year, with everything from high-heel slingbacks to ballet flats being painted various shades of burgundy, crimson and chilli. Needless to say, the trend has come for trainers, too.

The thing that’s so compelling about the red trainer trend is just how surprisingly versatile it’s proving to be. Right now I’m seeing people on social media styling them with outfits you’d typically expect to see finished with something like a black or tan loafer. Jeans, tailored trousers, shorts, skirts—you name it! The red trainer works with them all; proof that more statement shoe options can be just as hard working as those deemed “classic”.

Still, red in itself is considered a classic colour trend; at least one that never really dates. I have red dresses hanging in my wardrobe that I bought 10+ years ago which feel just as relevant today. So, if you’re thinking about tapping into spring’s colourful trainer trend, then red kicks might be the smartest way to do so.