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Last month while on the London tube, I noticed a woman with impeccable street style and sneakers by On. While it wasn’t the first time I’d seen the athletic shoes, unmissable thanks to their unique cushioned soles and reflective logos, out — in fact, by then, I’d seen On sneakers all over London’s streets for months — it was a moment that, for me, solidified their hype status.
Originally from the Swiss Alps, with its cleverly simple name, On specializes in performance sportswear for activities like running, training, and hiking. Though the brand has been around since 2010, trends like gorpcore and “quiet outdoors” have recently catapulted On and its popular styles, like Cloudmonster, Cloudwander, and Cloud 5, into mainstream popularity.
“Sportswear has become the modern uniform,” On general manager Bianca Pestalozzi tells Refinery29. “We’ve embraced this evolution, bridging the gap between performance and lifestyle.”
If this evolution sounds familiar, it’s the same one that made household names out of performance brands like The North Face, Patagonia, Hoka, and Salomon, the latter being the orthopaedic hiking shoes that captured a surging generation of gorpheads (and even the likes of Bella Hadid and Rihanna). According to resale marketplace StockX, which prices products based on market demand, trades for On sneakers increased by 695% from 2022 to 2023. With such exponential growth, and two Loewe x On collaborations under the belt, On has successfully carved out their space in fashion and lifestyle spaces. At this rate, they very well could be the new Salomons.
So if, like me, you’re interested in trying On sneakers but not for performance purposes, scroll on to see how I’ll be styling the trend this spring and summer.
The first pair I test-drove was the Cloud 5 Waterproof in a light grey-and-white colorway. I normally wouldn’t choose sneakers in this hue, but after seeing gray all over the runways, I decided to test its styling potential with my go-to casual trousers: parachute pants. As these bottoms are practically made for gorpcore girlies, this outfit came together really naturally. I styled them with an oversized shirt and leather motorcycle jacket on a rainy day, and felt both cool and untouchable. Puddles? NBD.
Next, with the same Cloud 5s, I went for a bolder look with leopard print jeans, a crew neck sweater, a motorcycle jacket, and a red handbag (I love how designers favored red accessories during the most recent fashion month, so this was a perfect opportunity to flex mine). As this was my first attempt at dressing up On running shoes, I realized it would require more thought than it would to dress up my other sneakers. In the end, I was satisfied with the final look, which I’d describe as “city girl on the go.”
The second pair I tried was the Cloudwander Waterproof, On’s multifunctional hiking shoe, in a military green. These feel more similar to Salomons because of their chunkiness and tonal colorway, as well as their versatility with dresses and skirts. Here, I styled it with a maxi skirt, a tee, and a vintage overshirt, adding chunky silver jewellery for extra playfulness. Have I mentioned that I love the waterproof feature? The showers were no threat to my comfort in this fit.
Even I surprised myself with this pairing — who would have thought that a bodycon midi dress, hiking shoes and black socks (!) could actually work together? What I like most about the Cloudwander is that, while it’s clear they are a utility shoe, they are understated enough that it isn’t in-your-face gorpcore. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, either.
My final verdict? On sneakers are definitely as comfortable as they claim to be, but they’re also harder to style than your less-technical running shoes (see: Adidas Sambas), unless you tend to lean more toward the gorpcore aesthetic. That said, if quality, function, and lifespan are shoe qualities you care about, it could be worth it for you to get on the On train.
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