January is traditionally the month when we convince ourselves that the key to attending 6am gym sessions is a bouncy new pair of Nike Air Max. Look down at people’s feet and you’ll see box-fresh trainers everywhere. And with sneakers now an established fashion trend, they’re set to be more popular than ever in 2015.

Karl Lagerfeld heralded the trainer’s elevation to high fashion when he teamed every Chanel couture look for spring/summer 2014 with sneakers in lace, tweed, sequins and metallic leather last January. And they continued their run on the catwalk at Dior: Raf Simons featured jewelled trainers as part of his couture collection, and the house launched the Dior Fusion sneaker for autumn/winter 2014.

But while the catwalk introduced the idea of the uptown trainer, the trend’s subsequent popularity among professionals has seen its status elevated further: it is now common to see people wearing them to evening events and, more frequently, the office. The way we wear them has also changed: they look fresh with a suit, or a full leather skirt and chunky sweater. Sophie Elgort, the photographer behind the FT’s street-style blog Suits and the City, has been observing the trend for a while.