Gender-Neutral Shoes Continue to Gain Traction in the Footwear Industry

As the conversation grows around inclusivity in fashion, more footwear brands are rolling out genderless or gender-neutral shoe collections.

Earlier this month, Adidas and Stella McCartney worked together to launch a gender-neutral athletic shoe in black and orange. Nike has teamed up with WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu to develop a gender-neutral sneaker, the Sabrina 1, out later this summer. Wolf & Shepherd, a footwear brand that straddles the line between sportswear and luxury shoes, debuted its first genderless collection, Cruise, at the beginning of March.

In the same vein as gender-neutral apparel, gender-neutral footwear is starting to gain traction in mainstream and high-end fashion. Traditionally, footwear has been labeled as men’s or women’s, but more brands are creating shoes they say appeal to all people. Some, like Jimmy Choo, have rolled out shoes in extended sizes to fit those with larger feet. Others, like Puma, are offering many shoes in traditionally-gendered colors like pink, coral and lavender. Some brands, like NiK Kacy, build shoes from one last (the mechanical form shaped like a foot) and offer one set of numerical sizes.