I wonder when the last time a flashy nugget of fashion crossed over to become something more wholesome. How long ago did the humble brogue find its longevity? Or jeans for that matter? I'm certain I've seen Merlin in a pair, rolled up a little just because. Well, I believe something similar is happening with slip-on trainers.

Slip-on trainers came about from skating brands like Vans in the seventies. They should be called "skaters", really. Pimpled teenagers with long hair and last night's lasagna on their tops bought into them. I'd hazard a guess at nonexistence of laces and therefore a removal of effort in tying laces, just one foot then the other slumped into their skater shoes before ollying and trying to do flips and shit around the cul-de-sac, was the allure. Then in the nineties, man-boys strung loosely together in bands like Wheatus and Wheezer, wore them heavily on Top of the Pops. And so on they trickled into the early noughties before coming to a halt somewhere between 2002 and 2003.

For a good decade the skater shoe wallowed away.

Now, I believe they're back.

First, quietly, in the collections of a handful of elite design houses: Celine, Givenchy and Bottega Veneta. The wave of sports-luxe carrying them forward. Suddenly then, on the pins of the girls at the fashion magazines. A comfortable substitute, but knowingly fashionable and irreverent, having five-hundred quid trainers on with an otherwise conservative trouser and blouse combo. The high street caught on, so did men, and then everyone else. And you would think because of the exposure they've seen that the rapid consumption would falter. That's not the case though.

A wardrobe staple is born. It could be skaters' simplicity. The refinement, whereby its necessity is well considered and conserved. They're easy to wear. They lend themselves to a mellow weekend in the country as they do to commuting in the City. Although I can't foresee the span of their demand, they'll flutter around a bit, but ultimately stick around for a long time yet.

And what do you think Merlin had on his feet under that sparkling cloak? You might never have seen them, but a man with a four foot beard, magic in his bones and glitter in his eyebrows, almost definitely had a pair of skaters on. Believe it. He's told me.