We are in the midst of, it seems, something called "Boots-Only Summer." It’s a trend that started, as so many of them seem to these days, on TikTok, and involves people wearing soccer cleats — or boots — in places that are definitely not soccer fields.
The U.S. did recently host two international soccer tournaments: the Gold Cup and the Club World Cup. And we will host FIFA’s World Cup next year along with Mexico and Canada. So, is "Boots-Only Summer" a sign that soccer is taking off in this country? Or maybe it says something about the state of footwear fashion.
With The Show to discuss is Luis Torres, partnerships and social media manager at Reshoevn8r.
Full conversation
MARK BRODIE: Let's define our terms at the outset here. What exactly is "Boots-Only Summer"?
LUIS TORRES: So it kind of started as a meme and it's taken over, especially with Gen Z, but essentially, it started because of the price of cleats being upwards of $250 sometimes even $300.
BRODIE: Like soccer cleats?
TORRES: Soccer cleats, yeah. People just wearing them because they're luxury or because, you know, they're just at a high price point. So it kind of started off as just, let's mix things up, let's get away from the chunky silhouettes and stuff and try something new, especially because it's so Y2K-centered, and that's kind of where I feel like trends are kind of going back to right now. So, it was just a little bit of everything.
BRODIE: Now I've got to ask because I was around for Y2K in my adulthood, and I don't remember anybody wearing soccer cleats, not on a soccer field.
TORRES: Well, definitely not that, that definitely wasn't part of the Y2K. I think it's a little bit more reformatted if anything, because, you know, the, the peak of soccer, the culture, the kids, all that was very, you know, kind of Y2K, but now it's just kind of a more, Gen Z's approach to what it could have been with social media and all that.
BRODIE: So does this trend represent an increase in interest in soccer in the U.S., do you think?
TORRES: I would hope, I mean, especially with the World Cup being here in 2026, you know, you, you really want that to happen and as a soccer fan, I hope this is kind of a shift in the interest in the sport.
But, if anything, I think the fashion aspect of football, soccer has always kind of been there, and especially in the last few years, we've seen fashion houses from Dior to Louis Vuitton kind of integrating soccer and, and the vibe into their collections. And we're going to see it more from that game and they're reissuing a lot of old stuff and some of the other brands Adidas primarily, too, so we'll see more of it.
BRODIE: It seems like at least in the U.S. in the past for sports that have had footwear sort of integrated into pop culture. It's mostly, I think, been basketball. Is that fair to say? Like, is this really sort of moving in on that territory?
TORRES: Yeah, I mean, you know, especially basketball, like, you know, a court and the concrete, it's not too much in terms of a surface of boot, obviously it is very much different with the studs and the material, so. And again, I, I think just the U.S. culturally, basketball is always kind of been at the forefront. Baseball doesn't really have much of footwear DNA, so that's really hasn't translated. So yeah, hopefully this is kind of the next step in and where footwear is going and can go.
BRODIE: All right, so a couple logistical questions here. Number one, if you wear soccer cleats on a sidewalk or on the street, the, the cleats get worn down. Number 2, a lot of them aren't all that comfortable if you're not on grass. So how are shoe manufacturers trying to work around those things?
TORRES: I don't think they are. I really, I mean, obviously, especially because if we're talking just production of shoe lines, right, like a shoe from concept to ideation to all that, it takes like around 12 to 18 months to go to market.
So by the time, you know, they're seeing that first boots trend summer, it's already 6 months in. And by the time they go out to production, it's like, well, there's no point. So, because there are different types of, of studs or cleats. So there's like artificial ground and firm ground and soft, and then there's indoor versions which are completely, you know, spikeless.
So it's really just on the consumer, like what's more comfortable for them, but I don't see the brand is doing anything because again, you're just at that point, you're straining, stripping it away from its actual function, and if anything, you know, the specifically the Gazelle and the Samba, those are soccer shoes, and they just kind of, you know, went with the, with a different bottom, but that's how it started and kind of got adapted, so we'll see more of that, I'm sure.
BRODIE: Well, those two shoes have been around for a very long time, like the Samba, especially. I remember when I was in junior high and high school wearing those as their sort of day to day sneakers or PE shoes, things like that.
So is this like in some ways a nostalgia kind of thing or a nostalgia by people who maybe weren't around the first time?
TORRES: Yeah, I think like I said, you know, that that Y2K, especially with so much of the social and buying power being with Gen Z, I think, even myself, right, like I born in '98, I very much love that purple and teal from the Diamondbacks, even though I was very, very, I mean, I was born when the franchise started, you know, so people always love nostalgia, the brands know it. And yeah, this is probably just more of the same. It's just in a, in a different lens.
BRODIE: All right, so I got to ask you about the box of shoes that you brought. Can you tell me a little bit about what I’m looking at?
TORRES: Yeah, so this is the Total 90 III, essentially this was released in the early 2000s by Nike. It was originally a cleat worn by a lot of like the, the Nike greats. Wayne Rooney, Figo, Roberto Carlos, a lot of great players. And this was at the peak of Nike's soccer marketing, with the, yeah, I mean, I could, I could go on and and they're out for hours on it, but, this is really, really the pinnacle of a, of an era for, for Nike soccer.
And so in the last few years, Adidas has really been dominating with the Samba and the Gazelle and a lot of those sleeker, indoor-adapted shoes. So this was Nike's response, still the same upper colorways where this is one of the original colorways I dropped back in the early 2000s.
BRODIE: It's a silver with a black swoosh on it.
TORRES: Yeah, silver patent leather. I mean, you know, it's, it's kind of like someone joked with me, it looks like, you know, jazz or like ballerina shoes. But you know, the Total 90 that's supposed to represent, you know, 90 minutes on the pitch. So it's geared towards, you know, just the, the longevity of a, of a match of a game of high performance. So, but yeah, now it's kind of more, more streetwear.
BRODIE: Does this trend say anything to you about even people who aren't necessarily wearing soccer cleats off of a soccer pitch, does this say anything about the kinds of sneakers or the kinds of shoes people are looking to be wearing now more broadly?
TORRES: Yeah, I mean, we we've seen it all the time, right? Like Jordan's being worn by people that don't play basketball, right? And I think we've seen the same thing. Granted, the, the actual function and makeup of the shoe is drastically different. We, we are going to see, you know, just more people adopt soccer and jerseys and the culture as a whole, without really having an emotional tie to it, it just looks cool.
BRODIE: Do you see this as sort of an extension of other fashion nostalgia trends we've seen, like, I think back to a few years ago when “Mad Men” was a very popular TV show and everybody's wearing those, you know, 1960s suits with the skinny ties and the skinny lapels. Like, is this in some ways kind of an extension of that?
TORRES: Yeah, I mean, you know, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That's kind of how I see it and, and footwear and fashion is, is no exception, I think. A lot of even just some of the most fashion forward pieces and things are still remnants and call outs of the past. It's just how much of that do you know?
So, yeah, I, I think it's just one of those things where we're always going to see fashion and we're kind of called back to the past because you especially with Adidas and Nike primarily being so ingrained in sport and heritage, it's hard to stray away from that and still have a top selling product.
BRODIE: Do you think this "Boots-Only Summer" is sustainable enough to make it two summers, and you referenced, you know, the World Cup coming, like, will this still be a thing next year when, you know, soccer teams from around the world are descending on North America?
TORRES: I don't think the boots on itself will be a thing, but I do see football, soccer culture integrating itself more and more, and I think the brands are aware of that while, you know, Adidas and, and Nike are still gonna continue to push out their boots.
They know we have to make streetwear adjacent jerseys and apparel because that's more for the mainstream consumer that, you know, because again, I mean, Nike's been reissuing T90 jerseys from old club or old clubs and old national teams that they used to sponsor, but they're doing that without the actual sponsorship. So like they're Mexico is now with Adidas, they reissued a Mexico T90 jersey, $90 which is way more inexpensive than the $350 cleat, right?
So there are ways where you're trying to make it a little bit more attainable to the everyday consumer, but the cleats themselves are going to say that price point because at the end of it, it's still about function and performance, and they're, they're not going to stray away from that.
