Hermes Bouncing Sneaker Men Technical Mesh Sport Goatskin Noir H261897ZH01400

The orange does the talking here, and it speaks from below. Black technical mesh and sport goatskin occupy the entire upper, but the sole carries black and orange rubber inserts, so the shoe flashes a controlled amount of colour exactly when you lift your foot. Looking straight down, most of the time, it is simply a black sneaker.

Sport goatskin is the sturdier of the two materials and takes the eyelets and collar, while the mesh midsection keeps the weight down and the airflow up. Under everything, the white rubber sole is the bouncing composition that made this model a fixture, and the white lamb’s skin lining contrasts the black exterior, a small inversion I like.

Two lace pairs come in the box, white and tone-on-tone, which is really two shoes: white reads athletic and summer; tone-on-tone reads as a plain black sneaker for the office. Men’s sizes 40 to 46, made in Italy, and the recycled fabric ribbon at the heel survives being yanked daily.

One honest observation: black mesh grabs lint with enthusiasm, and the orange inserts scuff to grey where the sole corners meet pavement. The colour is saturated enough that those scuffs are more visible than they would be on an all-black sole. Both clean up, but this is a pair that looks best when you pay it some weekly attention. The mesh itself has stayed unmarked, which is more than I can say for some cheaper knits.