“I’m actually becoming kind of an anti-heel person,” model turned actress and author Emily Ratajkowski says. “I think maybe with COVID and becoming a mom they always feel too fussy. I feel more comfortable and like myself in sneakers.” For those who are also feeling the itch to ditch their heels, good news: Ratajkowski’s new Superga collaboration will make it that much easier.
A longtime fan of the brand’s classic 2750 tennis shoe, the street style icon found the collaboration to be a natural fit. “I live in New York City, and I have a very big dog, so I’m walking everywhere all the time,” she says. “I wear sneakers a lot. You can dress them up or down, so the sneaker is always cool, and I love the classic simplicity of Supergas.”
Of the design process, Ratajkowski, who launched her own line Inamorata back in 2017, says, “I love mood boarding and creating things, but I’d never designed a sneaker before, so I wasn’t coming in and being like, ‘let’s completely rework Superga.’” To that end, the collection bucks trends in favor of the brand’s signature, timeless style. “There was a real moment, like four years ago, where it was fun for me to wear very out-there sneakers, but what I really want now is something classic,” she explains. “I think that we’re going through this very confusing time in fashion. I personally have recently decided to give up on all of that and just wear what I want to wear rather than following the trends that come and go.”
After trawling through the company’s century-old archives for inspiration, Ratajkowksi settled on two of the label’s most iconic styles: the aforementioned tennis shoe and the lug-soled, high-top Alpina boot (originally created for hikers in the 1950s). She added her own twist in the form of tubular laces, logo-engraved aluminum eyelets, and custom off-white soles. “I liked the idea of having two tones, so the shoe wasn’t white white,” she explains. “When I get dressed, I don’t want my shoes to match my white T-shirt. I want there to be something kind of different to break it up. We also added a little bit of ribbing on the sole to make it sportier. There’s some nostalgia in the shoe, but it feels it feels modern too.”
As to how she plans on wearing them? “I wear sneakers with everything, from sweat suits for a plane journey, to dresses in the summer, an oversized suit or a miniskirt in the evening, and of course jeans and a T-shirt. That’s what’s so great about them—they’re so versatile.” However, she does have one caveat when it comes to how she likes to sport a white sneaker. “I actually like my sneakers dirty. I’m a pretty messy person in general who’s not very precious about my clothes. I think that they look better the more worn they get.”
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