The world of high
fashion adopts the

sneaker

By MARIAM SHEIKH

Daily Style Editor

A few words and images

immediately come to mind
when I hear the word “sneak-
ers.” Athletes, sports, working
out — basically anything that
has to do with being physically
inclined or fit. What doesn’t
come to mind is fashion, run-
ways, models, celebrities. But
that’s the surprising thing —
recently, the world of high fash-
ion pulled an Angelina Jolie
and adopted the sneaker. Gain-
ing traction in 2014 with the
emergence of the classic white
sneaker on major runways,
coupled with everyday not-so-
active active-wear, the sneaker
trend is still in full force as we
near the end of 2015. Some
argue that it’s getting out of
hand — but is it really?

Kickin’ it old school: Fashion

always finds ways to recycle
itself. What’s trending is direct-
ly pulled from different aspects
of culture, street style, Kylie
Jenner’s Instagram and so on.
One year a design is on the run-
way, the next it’s marked down
for the rest of the world to wear
the shit out of it. Sneakers are
the perfect example of this. Oh,
sneakers. As someone who has
never been naturally athletic,
sneakers have always been the
shoes I wear when I’m doing
something that is truly physi-
cally demanding, like helping
my mother bring the grocer-
ies in or when I embark on my
once-a-year trip to the CCRB.

I remember the history of

them all. Starting with my very
first pair of light-up Skechers
from way back in the day, I soon
graduated to my mandatory
Catholic school gym uniform
white sneaks (they were even
less cool than it sounds). But
don’t worry guys, my parents
decided to take me shopping for
a weekend pair of slip-on DKNY
sneakers (needless to say those
were only for those hot summer
days). Fast-forward to today,
a #blessed world where I no
longer have a school uniform,
light-up shoes are out of style
and my parents have stopped
picking out my clothing. Fast-
forward to today where any-
one on the University’s campus
can be found in a classic pair of
sneakers. Black and gray, roshe
flyknit, with that unforgiveable
Nike “swoosh,” I’m officially
a conformist. But I have no
regrets and here’s why:

The comfort factor: While my

history with sneakers is both
worrisome and complicated,
there’s no denying their prac-
ticality. When running around
Downtown Ann Arbor doing a
variety of random shit, it’s nice
to have a shoe that is not only
wearable for every season, but
one that is also comfortable no
matter what. The comfort fac-
tor extends beyond physicality.
Sneakers have become, for me,

an accessory that makes me
comfortable in my own skin. I
know that for whatever outfit I
have on, a pair of sneakers will
go a long way no matter what.

From a non-athletic girl, to

the rest of the world: This is
what I like to call the “I’m down
to earth and low-key athletic
factor.” A pair of shoes, espe-
cially customizable sneakers,
is something that reflects you.
Some people think the eyes are
the windows to the soul. First
off, that’s definitely something
a hippie just made up. And sec-
ond, think what you want, but
a pair of sneakers can tell you
a lot about a person as well.
Sneakers will customize any
outfit and add your own unique
style. They can say a lot about
your identity in that moment,
for that day. Are you trendy,
athletic, strong, a hot-mess,
allergic to nature, or do you just
radiate an air of hipster-esque
vibes? The list goes on. People
equate “starting over” to mov-
ing away and making new
friends. I equate a change in
identity with a simple change
in your sneakers.

In the end there’s nothing

like putting an athletic touch
on an outfit that has nothing to
do with athleticism (guilty).

The options are endless (lit-

erally): It’s amazing that we
live in a society where I can
customize my own sneakers
right down to the pattern on
the sole of the shoe and have
them delivered to my doorstep
within a few days. From colors,
to texture, from design, to type
— it’s overwhelming. Bright-
colored sneaks are the shoe of
the moment for everyday wear.
Matching shoes to one’s outfit
is out, and making a statement
by what you wear on your feet is
in. Apart from average humans,
like us college students who are
almost always dressed casually,
there are those with cause to
dress fancier. Models, celebri-
ties, influencers of all types,
are starting to pair sneakers
with formal wear. Gigi Hadid
is often photographed wear-
ing the same pair of classic
white Adidas sneakers on vari-
ous occasions, from running
errands to going clubbing. Ball
gowns, suits, tuxedos — a pair
of quality sneakers can go a
long way.

But of course, with so many

options, there’s room for chaos
to ensue, and this chaos comes
in the form of hideous designs
and lack of consideration for
the masses — the spawn of over-
zealous designers. The most
hideous byproduct that comes
to mind is the wedge sneaker. A
shoe that is an entity of its own
should not be fused with some-
thing else, least of all a wedge.
Another — while they are sleek
and beautiful in design — the
$20,000 eBay price tag on a
pair of Adidas Yeezys is enough
to make Donald Trump cringe.
Listen to the kids, Kanye.

The world of fashion — and

style itself — is cyclical. Just
a few years ago I thought I
would never be caught dead
in anything suede, fringed or
entirely made of jean, and yet
that is exactly what’s trending.
There’s something liberating
and almost comical about it,
really. In regards to the shoe
of the year, there’s a refresh-
ing touch about something as
simple as a pair of ripped blue
jeans and some fresh-to-death
sneakers.

No end of
options for
cool sneaks

Some argue

that the sneaker
trend is getting

out of hand.

My history with
sneakers is both
worrisome and

complicated.

Fashion always
finds ways to
recycle itself.

STYLE NOTEBOOK

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, October 16, 2015 — 5A

SMTD brings Green
Day to Mendelssohn

By MICHAEL FLYNN

Daily Arts Writer

Since the ’60s, rock music

has served the dual purposes
of both communicating socio-
political
messag-
es,
as

well
as

provid-
ing ener-
getic,
joyous
enter-
tain-
ment.
While
most modern bands have aban-
doned that tradition, Bay Area
punk rockers Green Day have
been a notable exception. Their
2004 album American Idiot cap-
tured the paranoia and frustra-
tion of young people growing
up in post-9/11 America, using
a loose narrative and multi-part
musical suites to create a 21st
century rock opera.

After the success of the

album, Green Day lead sing-
er Billie Joe Armstrong and
“Spring
Awakening”
writer

Michael Mayer collaborated in
adapting American Idiot into a
stage play, which premiered in
2009 at the Berkeley Repertory
Theatre in California to rave
reviews, before moving on to
a Broadway run in 2010. Now,
the School of Music, Theatre &
Dance is presenting the moving
and lively play.

“It’s been a great labor of

love from the beginning, from
the audition process through
rehearsals,”
director
Linda

Goodrich said. “It’s a subject
that’s relevant for the students,
and it’s been a wonderful
collaboration between faculty
and students.”

Goodrich was inspired to

direct the play after seeing it on
Broadway.

“I was really shocked to

know how much it did resonate
with the students,” Goodrich
said. “It’s written in the post-
9/11 era and was very much
about the disillusionment of
that time and the saturation of
media (with) some people feel-
ing alienated and disempow-
ered. If anything, it’s even more
so, as social media (contributes)
to the saturation of media.”

The use of rock singing makes

“American Idiot” unique from
the other plays in the School
of Music, Theatre & Dance’s
schedule, but also presented
a great challenge in trying to
blend the loud rock music with
clear vocals, to keep the music
from distracting from the story.

“It’s just unusual to have a

Green Day rock sound in the
theater, for getting the balance
of making it feel like a rock con-
cert and also keeping story firs;
and we had a limited amount

of time to tech that element,”
Goodrich said. “In a profes-
sional setting, you would have
a month of tech rehearsal, and
in a school setting, because the-
ater, dance and opera are work-
ing in the same space, we have a
very short window to get in the
theater to actually get all of the
technical elements happening.”

Students who grew up with

the album American Idiot may
wonder how the story has
changed in its translation to
the stage. They can rest assured
that the story remains intact.

“They’re all from the con-

cept album,” Goodrich said of
the songs featured in the show.
“There are these letters that
Johnny writes to his mother
throughout the show, or to his
friend Will, and those letters
are the only interstitial dia-
logue in the show.”

While the plot of the story

remains unchanged, seeing it
onstage will make the plot clear-
er than it was on the record.

“It is in the album, but you’re

kind of like a treasure hunter,
finding those moments and
what’s really in the poetry and
what it’s saying,” Goodrich said.
“Essentially it’s all there, but it
becomes clearer as you put it on
stage and give those character
voices to individuals.”

Not only will the plot be

clearer, but also the emotions
conveyed through seeing actors
perform the material onstage.

“We
work
for
a
certain

amount of time to put a show up,
and when an audience comes,
that’s when the real commu-
nication
happens,”
Goodrich

said. “We get to learn from the
piece; the audience takes it in,
and there’s that kind of synergy
between actor and audience. It’s
really magical, and when the
idea’s actually communicated
and taken in and responded to
by an audience. Hopefully it’s
more than entertainment — we
really grapple with these issues
together and go away from the
theater and are changed by it.”

The show also boasts a style

of dance that is looser and more
unrestrained than what one
would normally see in a musical.

“Visually,
there’s
almost

a
modern
dance
element,”

Goodrich said. “The dance is
not only telling the information
of the story but also uses dance
and movement in a way that cap-
tures the emotion of the music.
Most of the original company
weren’t dancers. It’s so interest-
ing to see a raw mover express
themselves
choreographical-

ly. It’s different from seeing a
trained dancer.”

With this in mind, Goodrich

urges students to come see the
show, enjoy the visual additions
to the album’s story and bask
in the community element of
watching a live performance.

“It makes the storytelling so

clear, to actually see the story
and all of the richness of the
poetry, it really comes to life
in the stage play. And just the
community of coming out and
experiencing it together, and
addressing it as a community. It
promises great fun and enjoy-
ment and thought and it’s going
to hit you on many levels.”

American Idiot

Oct. 15-25

Lydia Mendelssohn

Theater

$22 amd $28

$12 students

EVENT PREVIEW

COURTESY OF THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC, THEATRE & DANCE

“So then I tells ‘em ‘This isn’t Rent, goddamnit!’”