With Celine and Reebok's collaboration turning heads, one can only predict pristine white sneakers are a bygone trend for now.

White shoes have been on the come-up lately, from experimental runway boots to classic sneakers. The aesthetic is generally thought of as a clean and minimalist way to ground an ensemble — but what if they weren’t crispy white, but rather intentionally distressed?

Of course, the distressed-out-the-box aesthetic has been around for a long time, and some people even purposefully dirty their brand-new shoes to get a lived-in look. Alexa Chung once wrote in her 2013 book “It,” “Looking effortless takes a lot of effort. When I get new Converse I dedicate some time at home to shoving mud on them so they don’t look squeaky clean.”

While you can smudge your own shoes with mud, some brands will do the distressing for you. Golden Goose has famously built a brand on the concept of luxury pre-distressed shoes — an oxymoron to some who balk at the concept of paying $640 for a weathered shoe.

But Golden Goose isn’t the only luxury brand offering distressed shoes. Celine and Reebok sparked buzz this year with a partnership spotlighting Reebok’s Freestyle Lo sneaker. After revealing the partnership in Celine’s men’s spring 2027 runway show in June, the Celine/Reebok Freestyle Lo sneaker was officially released in September with eight colorways including Optic White, Black and more options.

The classic Reebok sneaker, a landmark style dating to 1982 as the first athletic shoe created specifically for women, is covered in lambskin leather courtesy of Michael Rider’s Celine.

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