The World’s Most Talked About Shoe is Back in the Spotlight—Is That Enough to Finally Make Them Cool?

A tranquil village flanked by golden poplar trees and mountainous landscapes in New Zealand’s South Island is the least likely space you’d expect to find one of the century’s most polarising trends—the Isabel Marant wedge trainers. (Or as they're formally known, the Bekett sneakers.) Yet, it was in a small vintage boutique outside Queenstown that I found a style hunted down by Vinted warlords and Made In Chelsea cosplayers for a bargain price I’d be foolish to resist.

So, like a magpie to sequins, I flocked to the controversial shoe choice with a mission to make them my own, irrespective of the fact that they’re completely incongruous with my personal style. Then, after umming and ahhing and trying them on, my consciousness kicked in. This isn’t 2011. The harbinger of taste is no longer wearing them with a faux fur gilet and pleather leggings for a trot down King’s Road.

It might’ve been nice to part with a portion of my paycheck for the cheap thrill that a walk down memory lane could bring, but I knew that the irony and nostalgia of this purchase would be fleeting. So, I left empty-handed, with nothing but a terrible mirror selfie of me weighing up whether buying these “for the plot” would be wise or not and the memory of the experience.

What Are the Isabel Marant Wedge Trainers?

For the uninitiated, or perhaps those young enough to have avoided their reign the first time around, the Isabel Marant wedge trainers are an iconic shoe that’s part sneaker, part heel. (The original shoe hybrid, if you will.)

Standing tall with a concealed three-inch heel, this trending trainer features a chunky high-top shape, a collage of suede cut-outs along the side, a triplet of velcro straps and an exaggerated pillow-esque tongue that bulges out around the ankle. The style, which is called the Bekett, first launched into the market in 2011 and has helped cement the tomboy bohemian brand as an international sensation. (Marant has since released other iterations of the wedge trainers, including the Bobby soon afterwards and the Balskee in 2021. The latter's launch was cemented with a splashy marketing rollout that featured a campaign starring South Sudanese-Australian model, Adut Akech.)

At the time of their release, Isabel Marant’s design was the centre of fashion controversy for being so anathema to everything the industry stood for. This was an industry built on aesthetics and beauty, yet something that even the French designer herself called “super vulgar” in a 2014 interview with The Cutwas such an object of desire. What business did the shoes have being on the feet of the most prolific dressers of the decade, including off-duty supermodels like Alessandra Ambrosio and music icons like Beyoncé? (The Grammy Award winner even wore them in the music video for Love On Top.)

When Did the Isabel Marant Wedge Trainers Become Popular?

Of course, these celebrity endorsements only helped propel both the shoe’s popularity and divisiveness. As a result, the endless stream of critiques, think pieces surrounding their success and celebrity street style sightings made them one of the most covetable silhouettes of the decade. Paired with a slouchy and oversized Balenciaga Motorcycle bag, as it was then known, a leather jacket and trousers so tight they appeared to be spray-painted on, the Isabel Marant wedge trainers became a uniform for an entire generation of fashion obsessives.