Swarm of Loafers: Why Are Sneaker Brands Obsessed with Hybrid Dress Shoes?

Sneaker brands are going formal…sort of. The most interesting trend of the year has seen sneaker brands lean into hard-bottom aesthetics, stepping over each other to release hybrid footwear with business-ready uppers and sport-ready soles.

The sneaker version of a mullet started with some truly atrocious styles. In a pre-2020 era of open concept tech offices and their lax rules but fashionless senses, professionals turned to hybrid dress shoes like Cole Hann, Rockport, and the dreaded Allbirds as an acceptable, albeit swagless, comfort-forward middle ground.

Fast forward to late 2024, and amidst a push from business owners to get employees back into the office and make those rent payments worth it, New Balance stepped in for a fresh, younger era of office workers who had spent the past three years bingeing on consumer goods and had established all-new, sweats-friendly work-from-home fashion standards.

Whether other hybrid loafers were in the works or not, the New Balance 1906L dropped first and set a new standard for the formal sneaker hybrid. Since then, we’ve seen Nike’s Air Max Phenomena Loafer, the Hoka Speed Loafer, the Jordan Mule, Hoka Bondi Mary Jane, our favorite Keen UNKEEN Loafer, plus versions from Vans and Converse, and the brand new Air Afrique x Nike RK61. Did we miss any?

From the office to the party, the hybrid dress shoe trend is a modern representation of society’s push for a pre-pandemic return to some sort of normalcy, for better or worse (we still prefer a work-from-home lifestyle over here, shoutout our coffee shop co-workers). Are you getting in on the back-to-the-office hype train?

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com