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Orthopaedic Ugly Shoes Are Trending—But Are the Vibram FiveFingers a Style Step Too Far?

August 2, 2025

Following on from the great Tabi renaissance of the 2020s, freaky footwear has become a hot topic. A shortcut to cementing your status as a fashion insider, subversive flats are perhaps the most sought-after style purchase of late. But Vibram’s FiveFingers shoes could be the thing to separate the wardrobe conscious from sartorial spear-headers.

Lyst’s Q2 Index Report, which ranks the most popular brands and products for the period April-June 2025, placed the Vibram FiveFinger V-Soul in fifth place—beating the likes of Isabel Marant and Prada footwear. The avant-garde has always occupied an invaluable place in the world of fashion, but never before has a single item managed to make a truly disruptive purchase so sought-after.

Unlike Dr Scholl’s clogs and jewellery sandals, I don’t envisage Carrie Bradshaw sporting a pair of toe shoes in her lifetime. However, the Italian barefoot shoe brand has successfully captured a set of dressers that like to be a part of the “if you know, you know” crowd, and their online followers are being successfully influenced (myself included).

What are FiveFingers?

FiveFingers is the name of Vibram’s range of shoes that hug each toe individually. They are designed to promote foot health with their flexible, thin sole, and promise the same benefits as other barefoot shoes on the market. Think: enhanced ankle and foot strength, improved balance, and a reduction in risk of injury.

A choice of shoe that would probably have been associated exclusively with eco-warriors and health conscious hikers 18 months ago has now become one of the most frequent features on my “For You” page.

But this rise to the top hasn’t been overnight. Whilst Lyst’s data shows that search around Vibram FiveFingers spiked 110% between April and June 2025, a niche set of shoppers have been loyal to the brand for decades. Models in the ThreeASFOUR Spring/Summer 2017 runway show could even be seen wearing various colourways of the strappy slip-ons nine years ago.

Biding its time until the right moment, Vibram had perfected its offering of sports and lifestyle shoes, ensuring that customers would be left with nothing to desire when the trend tides turned. And it worked—sticking to its brand identity contributed to Vibram’s virality, and the rest is history.

Fusing function and fashion has been a welcome shift for those of us who hate nothing more than achey feet and restrictive clothing, and the movement has made even the most traditionally ‘unappealing’ items become desirable through a winning pairing of minimalist items executed in a maximalist way.

This development in how we dress is also indicative of certain shoppers’ lust for a wardrobe so unique that it goes as far as being off-putting or laughable to the masses. In a world growing increasingly more tense, Labubu dolls and silly toe shoes provide some much desired light relief through dressing, and offers consumers something refreshing as a result.

Sleek and sock-like, FiveFingers may be seen as a natural next step from ballet flats—and the style set are wearing them as such. Paired with feminine lace tops, tailored denim, billowy midi skirts, and seemingly answering the question of how to style capri pants, they’re shockingly versatile and understated. In fact, they’re even indistinguishable from regular pumps in certain colourways.

As an avid Tabi wearer, the appeal is all too clear to me. They’re strange conversation-starters, and I can already picture the knowing looks guaranteed to be exchanged by two FiveFingers wearers on the tube.

Despite the rebelliousness of FiveFingers as a concept, the ~£100 shoe is still rubbing shoulders with some of the most popular labels in the world. They are erring dangerously close to the mainstream, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re just as prolific as previously rejected Crocs or dad sandals.

There are few purchases that I would brand a step too far; after all, the fashion industry is built on experimentation which can often be uncomfortable for those on the outside. Plus, any shoe that promises unrivalled comfort and health benefits is no bad thing. But Vibram’s FiveFingers certainly signal the start of what will be an intriguing trend pattern in the coming years. And if fashionable women can make these look good, I’m convinced there’s nothing that’s off limits.