Why the fuck are people waving their shoes at DJs?!

I hadn’t actually seen a shoeing in the flesh until recently and I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be at the uber-hip Dekmantel festival. But as Palms Trax got the crowd into the swing of things with a sunny afternoon set, they appeared before my eyes like blossoming flowers. First I spotted an Adidas Samba down the front, then a Nike at the back. And then, right next to me a girl took off her Reebok Classic and let out a shriek of appreciation for Ditongo’s ‘Longo’. The shoe had gone continental. She told me the entire crowd had been doing it for Motor City Drum Ensemble earlier in the day. I asked her why. She replied: “Why not?”

I paused for a moment, pondering the dampness of the ground underfoot and whether I still had the strength to take off my Vans that I’d tied up like combat boots. In the end I didn’t, but if I had a Roshe Run or maybe a Adidas Gazelle on, there’s no denying I would have gotten involved.

As we move into the winter months it will be interesting to see what becomes of the humble shoe. Festivals are winding down and clubs are normally a bit more reserved and chin-strokey than the balls-to-the-wall attitude punters adopt when raving in a field. Plus the idea of soaking through your sock with a night’s worth of spilled vodka sodas, only to go home and find out you’ve ruined your ‘going out shoes’ isn’t particularly appetising. This cultural phenomenon could just be a fad and we’ll find new things to thrust at our DJs like toothbrushes or bumbags. But with footwear almost ever-present, I don’t think so. Hopefully, unlike fidget spinners or Theresa May, shoeings will still be around next summer and I’ll be able to bond with my fellow raver once again.

Louis Anderson-Rich is Mixmag's Digital Intern and is wondering how a Birkenstock would be received mid-shoeing. Follow him on Twitter