George Lucas wore the ultimate dad sneaker to the Met Gala, and not the sort that’s been adopted by the fashion crowd.
The creator of “Star Wars” wore a navy suit with an all-black pair of the Nike Flex Experience RN 7, a budget running shoe that’s been off shelves for several years now. Low on tech and frills, it’s a sneaker you’d expect to see at discount stores rather than inspiring lines at boutiques — and its appearance at one of fashion’s premier nights certainly comes as a surprise.
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Perhaps it’s the rebel in Lucas, going plain when others go glam, or perhaps it’s just a source of comfort for an 80-year-old man who banked $4 billion by selling the rights to “Star Wars” and the rest of Lucasfilm to Disney more than a decade ago.
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Mellody Hobson, president and chief executive officer of Ariel Investments and wife of Lucas, was more on-theme with sparkly grey tweed suit with bejeweled broaches and chains.
Nike’s Flex Experience RN line is now on its 12th iteration, and the $75 sneaker comes with modest product descriptions of a “plush textile upper” and “synthetic sole.” There’s no engineered mesh or ZoomX foam to be found, but it does have grooves in its sole unit in a bid for flexibility.
As for the Flex Experience RN 7, you can find a men’s size 9 on Walmart for $60 or pre-worn on various platforms.
Sneakers were far from a common sight Monday night at the Met Gala or in any other year, but Spike Lee did stand out with his choice of the Air Jordan 3 “Black Cat” as well as a hat for his New York Knicks. Jaden Smith also rocked the hit 1906L sneaker-loafer from New Balance, the source of the quintessential dad shoes as the zeitgeist knows them today.
This year’s Met Gala theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” or as its been referred to in short-hand, “Black Dandy.” 2025 marked the first year the event has been tied specifically to menswear since 2003.