How Did "Ugly" Beijing Cloth Shoes Stage Such a Surprising Comeback?

Have you noticed? Traditional Beijing cloth shoes — once dismissed by younger generations as outdated — are quietly making a comeback.

These shoes, known for their multi-layered cloth soles (though not literally a thousand layers), are reappearing not only in daily life but across social media and e-commerce platforms. On Xiaohongshu, posts related to Beijing cloth shoes have surpassed 9 million notes with over 16.1 million views. On Tmall, search results for “cloth shoes” span dozens of pages, with many models enjoying solid sales.

So how did these so-called “ugly” and “unfashionable” shoes win back today’s consumers?

The Decline of an Icon

For centuries, cloth shoes were a staple in Chinese footwear. Made by hand, they were breathable, flexible, and comfortable — beloved by ordinary people nationwide. After the founding of New China, state-owned cloth shoe factories mass-produced them, marking a golden era for the style.

However, as China’s reform and opening-up policy took hold in the 1980s, Western-style leather shoes and sneakers entered the market. These new styles, aligned with Western aesthetics, gradually displaced traditional cloth shoes — especially among younger generations raised with more international influences.

By the 2000s, cloth shoes had nearly disappeared from urban fashion, seemingly too “old-fashioned” to survive.

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Why Are They Back? Timing, Culture & Influence

Several key factors explain the revival: