A printed trainer is a statement — so the temptation is to build a whole outfit that shouts back. Don't. The rule with a bold shoe is the same one that has always run through Claudio Lugli: let one thing lead, and keep everything around it clean. Here is how to wear a printed trainer so it looks deliberate rather than dressed-up.
Start with the shoe, then build down
Most men dress top-down — shirt first, shoes last. With a statement trainer, flip it. Choose the shoe, identify its two or three dominant colours, and pull the rest of the outfit from that palette. A printed leather trainer in navy and gold wants stone or indigo around it, not competition. When the shoe is the loudest thing you are wearing, it reads as intentional.
Three looks that always work
1. The clean off-duty look
Dark, slim denim, a plain crew or fine knit in a tone borrowed from the print, and the trainer doing all the talking. The safest way to wear a bold shoe, and still the most effective — the surrounding calm gives the eye somewhere to rest.
2. The smart-casual lift
Tailored chinos, an overshirt or unstructured blazer, and a printed trainer instead of a formal shoe. This is where a statement trainer earns its keep — it takes a smart outfit and makes it yours. Keep the tailoring neutral and let the shoe supply the personality.
3. The full Claudio
For the confident dresser: pair a printed trainer with a Claudio Lugli printed shirt — but link them by theme, not by matching everything. A music-print trainer beside a guitar-print shirt, tied together with plain dark trousers, is a coordinated statement rather than a clash.
The one mistake to avoid
Never let two busy prints fight at the same eye level with nothing between them. A patterned shirt and a patterned trainer can live together — but they need a block of solid colour in the middle to breathe. Plain trousers are almost always that block.
Why our trainers are built to lead
Every Claudio Lugli printed trainer applies an exclusive design to a premium leather-and-suede silhouette — the same bold philosophy behind our shirts, brought to footwear. Explore the full range of printed sneakers and trainers, or see the complete men's footwear collection.
Designed in London. Made to be noticed.
