Adele Trades Her Courtside New Balance Sneakers for an Elegant Shoe Trend

Adele and Jennifer Lawrence have the kind of close-knit friendship that manifests even in their personal style. They share a red carpet stylist (Jamie Mizrahi) and a philosophy on sneaker trends. When they find one they love, they wear it into the ground. Lawrence has lately shown three pairs equal love: the Adidas Tokyo, the Adidas Taekwondo, and the Nike V2K Run. For Adele, only New Balance 530 sneakers are worthy of her rare street style appearances—until she decided to flip her own script with a new shoe trend.

Most times that Adele sits courtside with her fiancé, Rich Paul, she's laced up in a beige-on-white pair of New Balance 530s. It's a chunky sneaker that Elsa Hosk, Millie Bobby Brown, and Shay Mitchell wear for laps around New York and Los Angeles. Miu Miu also deemed the former running shoe worthy of a runway glow-up in a recent collaboration. Adele's preferred version balances her stable of neutral knitwear and '80s-inspired gold jewelry; her sneakers are the only sporty element in her game-night looks.

Everything changed for Adele's surprise appearance at the April 19 match-up between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Adele sat beside Rich Paul in a gray button-up shirt and matching pants, with a camel wool coat tossed over her lap. A stack of gold bangles jostled on her wrist; her custom, pear-shaped diamond engagement ring sparkled under the Crypto.com Arena lights. Where her New Balance sneakers used to be, however, Adele had swapped in a pair of white glove ballet flats.

White ballet flats are an elegant, understated shoe trend that hasn't yet taken over Los Angeles. Balletic takes by Mansur Gavriel and Vivaia are frequent fliers in Gigi and Bella Hadid's closets. Katie Holmes slips on pairs for her errand runs around lower Manhattan, and she passes everyday shoppers in similar shoes constantly. They're an antidote to classic black ballet flats and a dainty step away from white sneakers—same palette, entirely different vibe.

Adele's exact flats hadn't been revealed by the singer or her stylist at press time. From afar, I could pick out a few close-replicas at labels from Vince to St. Agni. And, I could sense that Adele won't journey too far from her beloved New Balances—they're too comfortable to give up forever, even in the name of a sleek flat. Plus, they also have a must-wear vote from—who else?—her closest friend, Jennifer Lawrence.

Shop Adele's New Courtside Shoe Trend