Trail Shoes Are Going Super Viral Right Now — Here’s Where You Can Snag Yours
You’ve probably been seeing a rise in people wearing trail shoes lately, but I’m not talking about on the side of a mountain. Hiking shoe brands like Salomon and Merrell are hitting the city streets, and it’s definitely a fashion statement.
Take me, for example: I own two pairs of Salomons and live in Manhattan. My XT-6s have seen a trail maybe twice in the two years I’ve owned them. I love pairing them with jeans or skirts just as much as I do leggings and sweats. The shoes are comfortable enough to run errands around the city all day, while still feeling like they elevate my outfit. I’m not a big hiker, but I love the shoes for their comfort and style.
You might be wondering why there is a sudden rise in this trail shoe trend, and, more importantly, how to get in on it. Below, I’ll walk you through my thoughts on my favorite “city shoes” and where you can shop the look for yourself.
The Next Iteration of Gorpcore
We can’t discuss the rise in urban trail shoe wearers without mentioning gorpcore. If you’re not familiar, gorpcore is a term coined by former The Cut writer Jason Chen in 2017 — it’s derived from “GORP,” which stands for “Good Old Raisins and Peanuts,” AKA granola (or trail mix, stereotypically favored by outdoorsy types as a snack during hikes and activities, giving rise to a term akin to “crunchy”). Gorpcore is a fashion aesthetic that blends outdoor wear with urban styles: think vests and fleeces, ponchos and windbreakers, and yes, even hiking boots that see more of the concrete jungle than a mountain range or summit.
“It’s not a hyper-elevated, high-fashion take on hiking clothes... These clothes are paired with painter pants, Vans, Hawaiian shirts, and Dickies because head-to-toe outdoorwear would be too literal, of course — it has to be thrown off to communicate the wearer is in on the joke,” Chen writes in his 2017 article ‘ First Came Normcore. Now Get Ready for Gorpcore .’ “The outfit isn’t designer, but it is fashion, in the way that any aesthetic executed with intentionality — ever insistent and dissonant — can become ‘a look.’”
Although gorpcore has been around for many years, it hasn’t quite infiltrated the popular fashion lexicon until now. Sure, you’ve seen it around big cities like New York and Los Angeles, but — like Chen notes — it might be too literal in places outside of urban areas. This newer iteration of the aesthetic is gaining traction in the mainstream, and with the rise of the trail shoe trend, more people are embracing it. These shoes aren’t just for the ironically cool urbanites; they’re for the people, and that perhaps is the fashion lifecycle coming full circle.
Why is Everyone Wearing Trail Shoes in Cities?
One of the most popular trail shoes to wear as a fashion statement is the Salomon XT-6 , initially designed for trail running on rugged terrain. Rihanna and other celebs helped skyrocket the brand’s popularity when she posted on Instagram wearing XT-6s in 2019 and later wore a pair of MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Lows during her 2023 Super Bowl performance.
Similar to the Maison Margiela collaboration, Salomon has partnered with other brands, such as New York-based label Sandy Liang , to create exclusive new iterations of its most iconic shoes. Although the XT-6 was first released in 2013, the search term on Google remained virtually unchanged until March of last year, when it experienced exponential growth and has trended upward ever since.
Many brands are also making walking shoes specifically for urban terrain (and by terrain, I mean subway platforms and city sidewalks). Salomon launched its Sportstyle category in 2018, releasing the brand’s classic trail running shoes in fun colors and finishes. Merrell’s Moab Speed 2 collection reimagines the brand’s iconic hiking boot into a sneaker “built with modern innovations for trail and urban explorers alike,” according to the brand.
In short, people are wearing trail shoes as a fashion statement, and brands are capitalizing on the market demand for more functional yet cool sneakers in the gorpcore category.
Where to Shop the Style
I might be a few years late to declaring gorpcore summer, but if you want to get in on the trend, you’ve still got time. Shop my favorite trendy trail shoes below, and I’ll see you on the trails... or downtown West Village, whichever works!
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