As trainers trend minimalist, it was inevitable that laces would eventually go the way of air bubbles, pull tabs and logos. But unlike those more decorative details, keeping your shoe on without some kind of fastening is a touch tricky. Yes, you could try slip-ons. But where are you going to find a chef’s hat to wear with them?

So recently, designers have started to compromise. Those line-breaking laces are now concealed by straps, skins and flaps, which hide all that messy rope but ensure your shoes still stay on your foot. Because losing a shoe is never a trending look.

Filling Pieces Low Top Elastic

Dutch trainer brand Filling Pieces doesn’t exactly make maximalist trainers. But it’s monochrome low-tops now get an even-sleeker update, courtesy of an elastic strap that obscures the laces.

There’s a touch of adidas Y-3’s super-sleek Qasa, which launched last year and promptly sold out, but which coupled with FP’s sloped silhouette makes for a shoe more smart than sporty.

Pair with stacked denim and a floaty overcoat. Both black, naturally.

Available at Filling Pieces.

adidas x Yohji Y’s Country Zip

Speaking of Y-3, the sneaker project where Yohji Yamamoto experiments with bonkers silhouettes, this season he’s decided to ditch laces entirely.

The Country Zip takes a Yamamoto signature – Adidas trio of stripes replaced with dangling string – then swaps the laces for a zipped upper. If all that trailing cotton is a bit much, there’s a sleeker, all-black silhouette with traditional Three Stripes branding.

Available at store.y-3.com.

Diemme Fontesi

Yohji doesn’t have ownership of the zip-up sneaker. Diemme is better known as a builder of inch-perfect hiking boots, the kind crafted from supple leather and Italian know-how that it would be a shame to actually subject to the great outdoors.