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The data backs up the trend. Frida Tordhag, fashion analyst at Heuritech, points to the company\u2019s research on \u201cmen\u2019s pumps\u201d, which are growing in popularity among the 16 to 25 demographic. \u201cIn Europe, this shoe model is favored, with 23% year-on-year growth in [social media] visibility over the past month,\u201d she says. \u201cLooking at our forecasted data, the shoe is estimated to grow 8% [in Europe], with peak months in June and September. In the US, it has seen growth of 11%, and is also a consistent riser, especially among trendsetters; it is forecasted to grow 4% over the next 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brands and retailers should focus ballet flat offerings on the fashion-forward customer, and adapt styles to boost adoption with a broader shopper, experts agree. \u201cThe more fashion-conscious customer will pick it up early, but for most men it\u2019ll come through in a more diluted way,\u201d says Benedict Browne, style director at Mr Porter. There are now various sneakers that build on the ultra-thin design of a ballet flat, repackaging its construction for performance reasons, for example. By combining elements of traditional masculine dressing with the traditionally feminine ballet flat, brands are participating in the trend without alienating shoppers.<\/p>\n
The recent surge in ballet flats reflects a broader shift in men\u2019s footwear, as the hype-driven sneaker years fade into memory. \u201cMoving from chunky sneakers to loafers was already a step toward something more polished,\u201d Browne says. \u201cFrom there, it makes sense that things would keep refining. The ballet shoe is quite an extreme version of that, but it points to where things are heading more broadly.\u201d EDITED\u2019s research supports this: men\u2019s sneaker options are down year-on-year by 3 percentage points, while shoe styles are up by 7 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cAcross footwear more broadly, men are moving toward slimmer, lower-profile shapes,\u201d Browne continues. \u201cThere\u2019s been a shift over the past few years toward dressing in a more considered, elegant way \u2014 and ballet flats tap into that. They\u2019re light, pared-back, and quite refined.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Tordhag, the move toward loafers has helped create a menswear consumer who is primed to adopt ballet flats. \u201cBecause of that shift, I think ballet flats have real potential to resonate with men as well,\u201d she says. \u201cThey tap into the same appeal: ease, versatility, and a certain understated elegance. In a way, they could become an evolution of the loafer, offering a slightly more daring yet still grounded sense of sophistication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe the ballet flat is more of a direction of travel than a final destination. It might be relatively rare for men to fully embrace the silhouette as it is, but many of its characteristics \u2014 the low, almost-flat sole and thin leather upper \u2014 are being combined with more traditional forms. \u201cWhile literal interpretations of the ballet flat remain minimal in the market,\u201d says Munday, \u201ctheir influence is beginning to take shape in the form of thin soles and soft leather uppers on shoes.\u201d For Mr Porter, this is coming through in \u201chybrid styles that sit somewhere between a loafer and a slipper, with that same pared-back feel\u201d, says Browne. At the start of the year, Jacob Elordi sat on the Jimmy Kimmel sofa to promote Wuthering Heights<\/em>, wearing a pair of off-white Bottega Veneta loafers that were not quite ballet flats, but ascribed to this hybrid style (though many users compared them to ballet flats online).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n