This is why you should be taking fashion advice from Nigel Farage, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer

Trainers! Who knew they were this big a deal? Suddenly, the humble sports shoe is top of the news.

First Rishi Sunak wore Adidas Samba trainers thereby ruining them for the many fashion conscious Samba wearers, including the new editor of Vogue, Chioma Nnadi. 

Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage were also photographed in Adidas Gazelles; and then came news the most coveted trainer is by New Balance for Miu Miu and costs £780, if there were any left, which there aren’t.

Everywhere I’ve been in the past few weeks people are (only half-jokingly) asking which brand they should be wearing, having never given trainer style a thought.

It’s now clear that the old assumption — trainers are not suitable for fifty-somethings — is out of date and you can wear trainers at any age, and not just if you’re expecting to kick a football (Starmer’s excuse). 

And suddenly trainer owners everywhere are waking up to their potential: the power to turn the fashion dial right up or to give the everyday a spritz of style.

Trainers are now without doubt the neatest, easiest, most cost-effective and practical way of keeping in the fashion loop. 

So here’s everything you need to know (at the time of going to press, things move fast in trainer world) to help you make your choice...

Chic: Jennifer Lopez in Adidas Samba OGs

Casual: Olivia Wilde in Adidas x Gucci Gazelles

Trainers count as smart casual footwear . . . if they are a) clean, and b) some combination of leather and suede, or the vegan equivalent (no technical fabric if you want to wear them to the office).

The reason Sambas (£90, arket.com) became so popular is because they come in white with black/navy stripes, stone suede detailing and a slim gum sole. 

They’re smart casual with a capital S, and look like they’re made to be worn with tailoring rather than track pants.

By the way, the woman interviewing Sunak on Sambageddon day was wearing white New Balance trainers with a grey N and a platform sole, still smartish, but more casual and minus the fashion points you get with the style of the moment. 

Worth noting: imitations work, but there’s nothing quite like the real thing when it comes to trainers. 

If you’re a disillusioned Sambas wearer, the new cool and smart trainer on the block, Onitsuka Tiger’s Mexico 66 SD (£195, onitsukatiger.com) with the distinctive swooping side stripes, is already the number one choice of fashion editors. Get them in white with blue and red stripes and you’ve got this year’s white trainer, plus.

The plain white and pretty trainers moment has officially passed. Vejas, with the V in coloured leather, no longer cut the mustard, notwithstanding its eco credentials.

Now, the trainers of the moment are retro, old-school and suede — the kind seen on campus in the 1970s — in vintage colour combinations. 

The Adidas for Gucci trainers in colourways like burgundy and turquoise kicked off this trend a couple of years ago and now it’s flying: another retro design from Adidas, the SL72 (£79.99, office.co.uk) has a thicker white sole, looks fractionally more like a running shoe than regular Gazelles, and comes in 12 colour combinations, including my favourite maroon, almost yellow and brown.

Adidas Handball Spezials (£89.99, office.co.uk) are similarly colourful and covetable.

Otherwise, for anyone disinclined to wear a trainer that dads feel comfortable in (plenty of men are wearing Spezials), the new hot style on the block is Nike’s Cortez vintage suede (£131, farfetch.com) in preppy colours such as green with a turquoise flash on the heel.

Katie Holmes stepping out for a stroll in New York City wearing Adidas trainers

Beige suede and cream trainers are popular too, including New Balance’s RC42 style (£89.99, office.co.uk), and you get a lot more sole with New Balance.

If you’re looking for a fashion forward trainer, flatter retro running styles are streaking ahead. 

But with trainers, it’s about finding the one that suits your needs, and if you need more support or height, then Marks & Spencer’s version — it does a ‘side detail’ style in stone, green, white and navy (£35, marksandspencer.com) — is a good alternative.

For feverish fashion followers, designer collaborations with trainer brands are the new It Bags. The ones currently making the fashion crowd drool include Adidas and Wales Bonner, and the New Balance and Miu Miu collection. 

Miu Miu’s 530 SL flat style in cinnamon brown with orange laces sold out instantly, but there are plenty of imitators. Fans might easily make do with Adidas Gazelles in burnt orange and brown (£89.99, office.co.uk).