Men's
Road Test: Prada Levitate Shoes
Assistant buyer Max Lysak wears the wingtip version in brown burnished leather.
Miuccia Prada has taken men’s shoes to new heights. From colorful foam platform brogues to wingtip golf shoes and rubber-dipped lace-ups, the soles on Prada’s shoes for guys stand out. For Fall, a new shoe series appropriately titled ‘Levitate‘ features transparent air-bubble soles. The sport-style support might seem more fit for a workout than the office, but it’s precisely this clever juxtaposition that keeps the luxury label’s fans on their toes.
Assistant buyers and Max and Chris road-test the Levitate shoe in downtown Dallas.
To get a better sense about what the sneaker/dress shoe hybrid is all about, we challenged men’s shoe assistant buyers Max Lysak and Chris Buffington to road-test the Levitate.
"The Levitate combines the two types of shoes Men typically rely on: 1. A dress shoe for work, and 2. A sneaker for leisure," Buffington says. "The air bubble is 360 degrees, compared to other sneakers that offer similar construction only in a few areas of the sole. This craftsmanship adds extra comfort on a daily commute."
When asked what they would wear the cross-over footwear with, both buyers agreed: anything!
Lysak, who admits he favors the brushed silver version on his colleague’s feet, says “the casualness of the sole with the leather upper gives off the young, hipster, look. Pairing them with a clean, slim outfit is fresh.”
“A pair of cuffed dress pants to work, dark denim at night, or shorts on a Saturday afternoon,” Buffington concurs, as he jumps off a park bench demonstrating the shoe’s athletic traction. “The sole purpose of the Levitate collection is versatility… no pun intended.”
The 360 degree air bubble.
