Ugly no more: Rise of the dad shoe

Ugly footwear or counter-culture cool? Chunky, comfortable shoes are back on trend, thanks to an unexpected demographic: Gen Z consumers.

Brands like Hoka have seen a remarkable turnaround in fortune. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
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It’s a cool morning in the neighbourhood: I’m carefully taking a mental inventory of my running route, aware that my foot has just recovered from extensor digitorum longus tendinopathy with midtarsal joint stress.

This is the mouthful of a condition that I was diagnosed with recently, when an excruciating pain in my foot saw it being iced and taped up for several weeks.

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