Justin Bieber wore sneakers with a suit to meet President Macron of France, a sign of an increasingly casual and laid-back dressing style for men
- The rise of street style and a push by celebrities, influencers and luxury brands have given impetus to the suits-and-sneakers trend
- Experts predict we will see a more casual and laid-back dressing style for men, like dressing down suits with kicks, become the norm post-pandemic
It wasn’t quite on the same level as Elvis Presley meeting then-US president Richard Nixon at the White House in 1970 but, in June 2021, pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, model Hailey Bieber, met French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Quite aside from the oddity of the president and the singer mugging for the camera and discussing the latter’s tenuous-at-best French ancestry, the meeting was a source of much comment and column inches for the contrast in fashion.
Covid-19 notwithstanding, pairing a suit with sneakers, as Arnold says, is not uncommon. Plain leather sneakers offer a smart look for the wedding itself and comfort for the dancing portion of the reception. (Full confession: this writer wore a handmade navy Liverano & Liverano suit from Florence, Italy, with plain pale pink Nike Blazers for his pandemic wedding.)