Pink Koio sneakers
Photo: Ryan Segedi

Trainers were once treated more as a necessity than a fashion statement. But that was before the term “sneakerhead” made its way into the common lexicon. Since 2014, the online retailer Koio has been capitalizing on the shoe’s elevation to millennial style staple, granting pumped-up kicks a high-quality makeover. At the company’s new Chicago flagship, which opened in November, Italian craftsmanship and normcore design are on display, with high-tops set on pedestals like works of art. Try on a pair of calfskin Primos ($338) that took the same artisans who construct Chanel’s leather goods four hours and 88 pieces to make. 924 W. Armitage Ave., Lincoln Park