Which Way Do the Sneaker Prints Lead?

Is the runway a two-way street? The thought occurred to one observer as he wended his way through the men's fashion weeks. One particular style of shoe - the white sneaker, low-topped, often in leather - recurred again and again, on the runway and in the front rows. It raised the question: Do trends trickle down, or do they trickle up?

The sneaker's forward march to the front of the gentleman's closet has been well documented. Different styles and brands enjoyed moments in popular favor, but to judge by industry types who trekked to London, Milan and now Paris, the current mood inclines to light and low.

The paragon of this style may be the Achilles by the New York label Common Projects. It wasn't uncommon to see pairs on two adjoining editors, distinguishable only by the telltale grit of age. 'I've been wearing them a lot more than I expected,' said Josh Peskowitz, the men's fashion director of Bloomingdale's, an erstwhile Nike loyalist. 'It feels right after the Flyknit binge I've been on. Shoemakers and designers seem to agree. I saw them all over the place in London, Florence and Milan, and I doubt Paris will be much different.'

The Achilles has been Common Projects's best seller since it was introduced, said Prathan Poopat, a founder of the label. 'We wanted to make the perfect white sneaker, which was actually hard to find,' he said. 'Unless you were wearing Stan Smiths, there just wasn't much.'

In fact, second place seems to be held by that very Stan Smith, first released in 1964 (then under another name, and rechristened Smith in 1973). The sneaker is enjoying a renaissance since its 2014 reintroduction, and has even conquered the hearts of designers like Raf Simons and Phoebe Philo of Céline.

On the spring runways, the look, though tweaked, prevailed: at Alexander McQueen and Giorgio Armani, elasticated at Ermengildo Zegna Couture, rubber-capped at Gucci and hoisted onto platform soles at Dsquared. At the Pitti Uomo trade fair in Florence, the Canadian accessory label Want Les Essentiels de la Vie, introducing its first footwear, included (of course) a leather low-top.

Odds are good the style will stick around for another summer. But it will never be hard to tell who was ahead of the curve. Count the scuffs.