There are also shoes that we just wear. Others we discuss endlessly.
New Balance's Mutant 1906L clearly falls into the latter category. New Balance's shoes, introduced last year, are a combination of a sneaker and a loafer, and have been dubbed “snoafers” on the internet. It's a hybrid design, caught in the liminal space between informal and formal.
Whatever Snowfur is, it's polarizing. Although versions of this shoe continue to sell out (though it's unclear how many were produced), detractors say the snorfur is downright ugly.
In an edited conversation, New York Times staffers John Caramanica, Stella Bugbee, and Jacob Gallagher (two of whom actually purchased the Snowfur) discuss the shoe's Frankensteinian benefits. , talks about how they were accepted by their respective families and whether it was genuine or not. Ugly enough, actually.
Stella Bugbee There's something deeply perverted about these shoes.
Jacob Gallagher I've seen people say that orange juice and toothpaste don't go together, but are they being twisted? Please say more.
BUGBEE They don't know what they want to be, but they are unapologetically themselves. I think it's in a good way that this tension creates discomfort within me.
GALLAGHER That's what I thought when I saw it online, but when I bought it, put it on, and looked down, I thought, “Is that all there is to it?”
John Caramanica When I saw these, I immediately thought of vintage Geox shoes, for example. It's the kind of brand you'd find in print ads deep in the cheap pages of men's magazines. What's worse is Cole Haan's terrible attempt at a sports office shoe. We all hate that stuff.
GALLAGHER You're talking about Cole Haan's Lunar Grand, which was monstrous. They called attention to their juxtapositions. The uppers were dressy and the soles were mostly neon colors, making them both casual and futuristic. Or so Cole Haan wanted you to think. But the 1906L is fused. They're like the creatures at the end of Substance. They take two different parts and warp them into one creepy whole.
BUGBEE When I posted a photo of the 1906L on Instagram, the reaction I got was overwhelmingly negative, with people just thinking it was “cool.” If everyone hates something, it must be doing something, right?
GALLAGHER But back to what I was saying earlier, Stella. Do you think people thought they were perverse or just ugly? Are people reacting to the shoes because they're new or because they're unattractive? That's an important distinction .
Bugbee, I don't understand that. I don't think the 1906L is ugly, but that was the consensus of my friends and family.
CARAMANICA My counterargument is that they aren't ugly enough! Especially the black pair.
GALLAGHER I'm with John. they aren't ugly. This sneaker is not in the league of John's beloved Balenciaga Triple S. This sneaker was purposely hitting every branch of that ugly tree.
BUGBEE People especially hated the little “N” at the top.
CARAMANICA The “N” part is interesting. This shoe gesture seems a bit extreme, doesn't it? It's like a cross between a $3 “breathable sock shoe” found at Temu and Virgil Abloh's playful long tail of writing on clothes. is.
The Gallagher “N” may be the most dangerous shoe out there. Who will put the logo there? That's part of the appeal for me. They're offering something new to hyped consumers while deliberately stepping into geriatric territory (they keep selling out, after all).
CARAMANICA Can I mention two more shoes that have attempted this tightrope before? First, my beloved Jordan Two 3 Cavy from the early 2000s. This is essentially a Prada loafer, featuring an athletic sloped sole and an accentuated stretch top. A messy blend of casual and formal. And the second is the Nike Air Verdana, a golf shoe also from the early 2000s.
At the time, I hated both. But at least with Cavvy, I noticed its elegance. This means it may be 20 years before 1906L is standardized and evaluated.
BUGBEE I would put these in the category of Nike Air Rift Tabis, sneakers with mutant ambitions.
Caramanica Yes, but the lift doesn't pretend to be formal.
BUGBEE 1906L doesn't feel formal. It maintains the sneaker feel.
CARAMANICA So what you want…sneakers, right?
BUGBEE No, I wanted a comfortable slip-on with the shape of a loafer and the sole of a sneaker that would make my whole family want to walk 10 feet away from me in public.
GALLAGHER So you wanted a backlash?
BUGBEE Yeah, I like little trolls.
