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!’”

