There’s been a lot of cool and ‘of the moment’ trainers of late. We’ve oscillated between loud and chunky, and near-on orthopedic; we’ve catapulted to the eighties, through to the nineties and back again. Thankfully, the trainers that are trending now are more wearable – and far cooler than the rest. Cue: the seventies tennis sneaker. A love-worn favourite amongst the likes of Alexa Chung and Camille Charrière, not to mention supermodels Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid, the low-key low-top is a classic that always looks good. The pinnacle of the trend is the Adidas Samba; the trainer, which is technically a cycling runner, has been sold out pretty much since the summertime. (Since then, new vegan iterations have dropped, see below.)

Main image: Instagram @anoukyve. 

Why are they so popular? For one, they get kudos for versatility. The style chimes with straight and wide-leg trousers, or equally looks good paired with jeans. (When it comes to dresses the jury’s out: we’d advise a silky slip skirt at best.) So if you’re yearning to ditch those Vejas or – shock! Horror! – break up with ballet flats for good, this is a prime opportunity. You don’t need to worry about them going out of fashion, either. Because when the buzz passes, as it always does, these fail-safe sneakers will still be all the things you want from a good shoe: timeless, classic and cool. That’s a trend we can get behind. 

Samba classic low-top trainers, Adidas, €95; www.farfetch.com. 

Velosamba vegan trainers, €130; www.adidas.ie. 

574 trainers, New Balance, €115; www.arket.com. 

Samba Super Suede trainers, Adidas, €80; www.zalando.ie. 

Cortez low top trainers, Nike, €136; www.farfetch.com.

Gazelle trainers, Adidas, €100, at Brown Thomas.