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2026 might have only just started, but a surprising number of people seem to have stepped into a time machine and landed exactly one decade ago, thanks to the “2026 is the new 2016” throwback moment on TikTok and Instagram.
Across social media, celebrities, brands and publications have started resurfacing throwback photos and campaign moments from the year, revisiting the outfits from the 2016 archives.
While the nostalgia is alive and well for the fondly remembered 2016, FN rounds up the shoes that defined the year.
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Rihanna’s Fenty Puma Creeper
Rihanna and Puma launched their Fenty Puma Creeper in September 2015, and it went on to make serious waves in 2016. The sneaker, defined by a platform crepe sole, has been reinvented many times since it won Shoe of the Year at the 2016 Footwear News Achievement Awards.
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Marc Jacobs’ Kiki Boot
The famously daring Marc Jacobs Kiki boot hit the runway as part of the label’s fall 2016 collection. The edgy style is characterized by a chunky platform, thick heel and buckled straps running up the shaft leaving oval cutouts. It’s a celebrity favorite to this day, worn by the likes of Teyana Taylor and Ice Spice.
The Sock Shoe
In 2016, multiple brands decided that sock-adjacent shoes were in style. This often came in the form of a clingy statement boot, including over-the-knee styles by brands like Vetements and Balenciaga. The latter brand also put out the Speed Sock Trainer, an ankle-height sock sneaker, in November 2016, which proved to be quite popular in 2017.
Adidas Superstar
The Adidas Superstar has known many eras of popularity since its release to the public in 1970, from Run DMC putting then on the map with the song “My Adidas” to another revival in the mid-2010s. Per research from the-then NPD Group, the Superstar turned out to the bestselling sneaker of 2016. There’s a reason it’s on FN’s list of the greatest shoes of all time.
Daya by Zendaya
Before she was a brand ambassador and codesigning a shoe with her stylist Law Roach for Swiss running brand On, Zendaya had her own shoe line: Daya by Zendaya. Revealed in 2015, her first shoe collection was for spring 2016, and she went on to cover an issue of Footwear News and win Launch of the Year at the 2016 Footwear News Achievement Awards. Her brand included adventurous and colorful styles like the caged and fringy heels pictured above.