Driving Shoes Are Now the Ultimate Leisure Footwear
There’s a video on YouTube of Gianni Agnelli being interviewed in 1988, striking the sartorial balance of tradition and modernity for which he was renowned. Perched on a Le Corbusier love seat, L’Avvocato—as the law student turned businessman was known—is clad in an impeccable yet sedate suit, looking every bit the Italian industrialist. His sole quirk: a pair of driving shoes that were relatively casual—pebbled driving moccasins by now-defunct shoemaker Giulio Miserocchi.
The image—and its subject’s mix of an off-duty shoe with full corporate garb—depicts a combo that feels as fresh today as it did then. That’s in part because it stands in direct contrast to the shambolic “old-money aesthetic,” with its strict, nonsensical rules about how to look rich, that the world has had to endure for the past several seasons. But it also serves as a reminder that real style is as individual as the person in the clothes. Fortunately, the spring 2025 collections offered what felt like a return to this authentic ideal, much of it grounded in slim-soled footwear.
Tod’s creative director Matteo Tamburini used the brand’s signature Gommino moccasins to bring things back down to earth, in looks that paired tailoring and slouchy knits with denim. So, too, did Alexandre Mattiussi at AMI Paris (with two-toned penny loafers) and Canali (with canvas sneakers). Silvia Venturini Fendi went so far as to devise ballerina-style flats for Fendi’s menswear collection. And it’s fair to say that Bally, with its gold-grommeted leather moccasins, has reinvigorated the deck shoe. The message: The “leisure” class has hobbies. These are shoes for doing things, even if not all the time.
Curiously, Lavinia Borromeo, wife of businessman John Elkann (Agnelli’s grandson), is one of the best ambassadors for this idea. She’s often photographed around Milan in casual, neutral, menswear-inspired ensembles paired with brightly hued shoes, seemingly selected to complement her rainbow of Hermès handbags. If we had to make an educated guess, we’d say they’re by Prada-owned Car Shoe, which holds Gianni Mostile’s 1963 patent for the original driving moccasins. Looking for something with a bit more flash? Stefano Ricci offers a similar style in crocodile.
Much like a certain white-soled suede Venetian loafer that, along with its countless copies, has dominated the past few summers, the driving moccasin is no longer the domain of any one brand (or gender). It’s merely a category of footwear—and an alluring handcrafted item that can endure more than one trend cycle.
This originally appeared in Robb Report US and Robb Report Philippines’ Car Issue.