LONDON — What would happen if a sneaker and a loafer had a baby? Well, it might look something like British footwear brand Grenson’s “snoafer,” a new silhouette that combines the two and taps into a trend that has been building over the past year.
“We have been designing hybrid shoes for many years, trying to find the best attributes of two shoes and putting them together,” said Tim Little, Grenson’s chief executive officer and creative director.
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The shoe features a classic penny loafer with a cushy Vibram sole, and builds on one of the brand’s most popular styles, the sneaker. As WWD reported in 2024, the shape makes up 30 percent of sales at Grenson, and are in the top five bestsellers.
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“Loafers are on trend at the moment and we thought why not put one on a different sole instead of the classic leather sole,” he said.
Little added that the brand is betting on a positive reception from its demographic of 35- to 50-year-olds. They haven’t been afraid to experiment with new ideas — the brand introduced a women’s collection in 2011 and collaborated with fashion companies ranging from Craig Green, Emilia Wickstead and Belstaff to YMC.
“We will definitely do more colourways [of the snoafer] as we think this will be a trend that will turn into a staple shoe in the future,” Little said. “We will use luxurious dress shoe leathers in black to begin with and other hand burnished colors later, and then maybe more casual materials in the future.”
The new silhouette is the first of many from Grenson, which Little teasing upcoming styles including an ultra flat sneaker; a boot inspired by vintage soccer shoes from the 1930s; a fisherman sandal-sneaker hybrid, and a square toed vintage St. Moritz style ski boot.