The Informant: These Cheap White Sneakers Are Staples of the Downtown Set

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White sneakers are a staple, but different pairs communicate different allegiances. Stan Smiths align their wearers with a retro look and green highlights. Golden Gooses (Geese?) align their wearers with Lululemon and East Hampton. Common Projects are largely worn by 30-something creative directors open to the idea of working in tech. On and on. But there’s one white sneaker that defies cultural trigonometry.

I’ve worn white sneakers by Feiyu for years. They’re cheap, white (with a red and white stripe) and breathable with a low ankle. Whenever I see someone else in “the sneakers,” we exchange a nod or a smile or some form of social signaling. It doesn’t happen all that often, but it happens. Stan Smiths are too big to have that level of cool cache. 

Feiyu doesn’t have a huge marketing team or prominent billboards. I get mine at a karate dojo supply store in Chinatown. (Not a dojo, mind you. The place where the dojo owner goes to get dojo equipment for his dojo-ing.) I do this because James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, the high priest of indie dance punk music, does the same thing and I love LCD Soundsystem. Feiyu’s are a word of mouth thing and James Murphy’s word is law in this regard. 

Feiyu, which means “Flying Forward,” is a roughly century-old Chinese outfit most often associated with Communist Party members and the Chinese National Football Team, which is deeply terrible. They are not just made in China, they are conceived in China. They came to America largely through Paris, where a sneaker collector named Patrice Bastian made them a thing and parkourist embraced them. (Apparently they are really good for jumping off stuff. I wouldn’t know. I can prove they also work quite well to walk to the supermarket and back.)

They are also dirt cheap. I buy mine six at a time for $72, still less than most people pay for Stan Smiths. I get about four months of use out of each pair, wearing them daily. They get to a perfect level of dirty fairly quickly, and then stay there. The rubber soles just wear out. 

Pairs are available at a markup on Stock X and directly through Feiyue, but, self-defeating as it may be, I think that’s against the spirit of the shoes. It’s about the journey to finding them. Do the work. Stop a stranger on the street and ask where they got their pair. You could make a friend in the process.