For the better part of the last decade, sneaker design has largely been about excess. Bigger midsoles, more technology, more visible cushioning, more stuff glued onto the upper for no apparent reason. Shoes stopped looking sleek and started looking orthopedic. Some of these chunky sneakers resemble performance equipment in the same way a lifted Ford Raptor resembles a practical car: technically functional, but visually absurd.
The current shift towards slim sneakers feels like a reaction to all of that. Thin soles, stripped-back uppers and low profiles suddenly look fresh again precisely because they’re so uncomplicated. A lot of these shoes are rooted in old sports – running, motorsport, martial arts, handball – from an era before footwear became obsessed with maximising stack height. Some are faithful reissues, others reinterpret the minimalist sneaker formula through a luxury lens. Either way, they all share the same appeal: they look fast, clean and easy to wear.
Autry Windspin
Autry has carved out a space for itself by doing the opposite of what most sneaker brands do: it makes shoes that look like they’ve been pulled from an old sporting goods catalogue and left there for decades. The Windspin continues that retro-American energy, but pared right down to a slim, low-slung shape. It’s essentially a basketball shoe that’s been put through a hot wash, with just enough suede panelling to stop it looking like a plimsoll. If you like your sneakers to look like they’ve already survived the 1980s, this is the one.
Puma Speedcat
The original slim sneaker. Launched as a motorsport shoe in 1998, the Speedcat was designed for racing drivers, not pavement-pounding city dwellers. Thin sole, flat profile, suede upper – it’s essentially a sporty lace-up driving shoe. In the early 2000s it became a nightclub staple, beloved of men who paired it with a shiny shirt and dangerous amounts of hair gel. Now, two decades later, it’s back – still as sleek, still as impractical, still perfect if you want a trainer that looks nothing like the bulbous monsters everyone else is wearing.
Adidas Taekwondo
There are slim sneakers and then there’s the Adidas Taekwondo, which is barely more than a sock glued onto a sole. Originally made for martial artists, the shoe’s stripped-back design gives it a kind of monk-like purity. Just smooth leather, stitched stripes and not much else. The kind of shoe you can slip on without thinking and instantly look like you know something about minimalism... just as long as it's styled with care.
Dries Van Noten Stripe sneakers
Dries Van Noten doesn’t do trends so much as moods. When he applies his painterly eye to a slim sneaker, the result is something that feels less like footwear and more like an idea about footwear. This slimmed-down sneaker takes the lo-fi proportions of a retro runner, then dresses it in graphic, colour-blocked uppers that sit halfway between a gallery wall and a track meet. It’s thin, it’s lightweight, it’s the opposite of performance-driven – which makes it oddly perfect for right now. A sneaker for people who’d rather their shoes start conversations than finish races.
Adidas Tokyo
Originally released in 1964 to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics, this shoe was never meant to be a fashion item. It was a stripped-down training shoe, all flat sole and slim lines, built for athletes in short shorts and vest tops. Fast forward six decades and the Adidas Tokyo now looks like the perfect antidote to the over-engineered bulk of modern chunky sneakers. It’s simple, clean, and not trying to do anything clever. Wear them with tailoring, selvedge denim, or just socks and shorts. They’re so unfussy they’ll get away with anything.
Puma Mostro
The Puma Mostro is what happens when you design a sneaker during a sugar rush. First released in 1999, it borrowed bits from surf shoes and sprinting spikes, then strapped it all together with Velcro. The result is a low-profile, alien-looking shoe that somehow feels very current again. It’s slim, yes, but also oddly aggressive – like a cat that could scratch your face at any moment. Reissued in the age of quiet luxury, it looks anything but quiet. If you want your slim sneakers with a side of chaos, this is the one.
Axel Arigato Daze Runner
Axel Arigato has built its reputation on making sneakers that look like they’ve already been accepted by the cool crowd. The Daze Runner is its take on the slim sneaker trend, and it’s pitched perfectly between retro and modern. You get a lightweight silhouette with just enough detailing – suede hits, mesh panels, sharp angles – to keep it interesting. Crucially, it’s thin and flexible, avoiding the clunky excess of the oversized sneaker era. This is the option for people who want slim sneakers but don’t want to look like they’re trying too hard.
Common Projects Driving sneaker
Common Projects is best known for its Achilles Low, the minimalist sneaker that launched a thousand copycats. But the Driving shoe is even slimmer, closer to an Italian driving loafer than a sports trainer. It’s low to the ground, almost slipper-like, with the brand’s trademark gold serial number stamped on the heel. This isn’t a sneaker for running or even prolonged walking – it’s a sneaker for sitting down somewhere expensive and ordering a Negroni. Functionally pointless, aesthetically precise. Exactly what you’d expect from Common Projects.
Nike Total 90
If the Puma Speedcat was the unofficial shoe of nightclubs in the 2000s, the Nike Total 90 was the official one of five-a-side pitches. Worn by everyone from Rooney to Ronaldo, it was a football boot first, lifestyle shoe second. But its slim profile and synthetic upper made it weirdly adaptable to everyday wear. Two decades on, it now feels like a nostalgic nod to an era when all you needed was a pair of T90s and a Nokia. Slim, speedy, unapologetically early-2000s.
Bottega Veneta Orbit Flash
Leave it to Bottega Veneta to take the humble slim sneaker and turn it into something that looks like it belongs in a design museum. The Orbit Flash has the proportions of a lightweight runner, but it’s dialled up with futuristic detailing, sculpted soles and technical materials that make it feel both featherlight and substantial at the same time. It’s a slim sneaker, yes, but also a piece of architecture for your feet. If most thin trainers feel like throwbacks, this one feels like a glimpse of the future.
Officine Creative Halo 001
Italian footwear label Officine Creative has always approached sneakers differently. Where most brands chase technical details and visible branding, this one leans into texture, shape and hand-finished character. The Halo 001 is slim, understated and slightly rugged around the edges, with the sort of worn-in finish that makes it feel like something you’ve owned for years. It taps into the low-profile trend without looking overly trendy, which is precisely why it works.
Adidas Stan Smith Lo Pro
The Stan Smith never really went away, but the new Lo Pro version feels noticeably more current. Adidas has flattened the sole, slimmed down the proportions and stripped away some of the bulk that accumulated over the years. The result is something much closer to the sort of streamlined tennis shoes people were actually wearing in the 1970s. Clean, simple and easy to style, it makes chunky sneakers suddenly feel very overcomplicated.
Keen Jasper
At first glance, the Keen Jasper doesn’t really look like it belongs in the slim sneaker conversation. It’s technically an approach shoe, after all. But fashion’s current obsession with low-profile footwear has increasingly drifted into the outdoors category, and the Jasper fits surprisingly neatly into that space. The slim sole, soft suede upper and climbing-shoe-inspired lacing give it a shape that feels very now. Think gorpcore, but less shouty and far easier to wear day to day.
Next up: The best minimalist sneakers to buy in 2026.
