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Like most feet, Justin Trudeau’s are rarely backwards in coming forwards. On Sunday, the Canadian Prime Minister marched in Toronto’s Gay Pride parade wearing a rainbow-striped pair emblazoned with the words “Eid Mubarak” in recognition of the Islamic festival Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

It’s not the first time Trudeau’s feet have done both the walking and the talking.

He makes a habit of slipping out sartorial signals with his socks, kicking things off this year on May 4, Star Wars Day (geddit?), when he wore socks depicting R2-D2 and C-3PO.

There was another sighting in May during a Nato meeting in Brussels, when Trudeau wore one blue sock and one pink, each with the Nato flag emblazoned on the calf.

There were also regular rainbow socks for a Pride flag-raising on June 14 in Ottawa, and a patriotic maple leaf motif on the ones he wore on a Canadian TV chat show on June 5.

The best bit? They were made by a Toronto-based company, Halal Socks, and cost $14.99. He’s even supporting local industry, in the same way that Michelle Obama would often wear American labels, and the Duchess of Cambridge supports British designers.

Is all this sock business a bit cheesy? Quite the opposite. Trudeau’s political game of sock diplomacy is an effective, yet not overt, vehicle for signalling a progressive, forward-thinking statesmen determined to put his best foot forward. They score big points with young voters, for whom the statement sock is an ironic tool in the wardrobe arsenal. If the eyes are a window to the soul, socks are the window to the sole (especially the holey ones).

Theresa May's finest footwear - in pictures 30 show all Theresa May's finest footwear - in pictures 1/30 November 4, 2014 Wearing leopard print kitten-heel courts as she leaves Downing Street after attending cabinet Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 2/30 October 5, 2009 Wearing red and black snakeskin courts on the stage as they address delegates at the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty 3/30 October 5, 2004 Wearing powder blue and black floral patterned ballet pumps as she arrives at the Bournemouth International Conference Center Jim Watson/AFP/Getty 4/30 December 9, 2010 Wearing knee-high red suede boot as she leaves a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Matthew Lloyd/Getty 5/30 November 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives on Horse Guards in central London during the visit of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Sean Dempsey/AFP/Getty 6/30 June 27, 2016 Wearing pointed leopard print courts to a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street Leon Neal/AFP/Getty 7/30 May 3, 2011 Wearing patent powder blue court shoes as she arrives in Downing Street to attend a Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty 8/30 October 9, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts with a burgundy print insert to deliver her speech to delegates during the third day of the annual Conservative Party Conference Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty 9/30 October 16, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts as she arrives at Number 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty 10/30 February 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she walks into Downing Street to attend a security meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 11/30 March 17, 2014 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she launches HMC Protector Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 12/30 June 5, 2013 Wearing pointed black patent sling backs as she attends the preview party for The Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition Tim P. Whitby/Getty 13/30 June 23, 2013 Wearing Union Jack emblazoned trainers as she presents medals during the third day of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup II at Eton Dorney 14/30 September 30, 2013 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she delivers her speech in the main hall on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference Oli Scarff/Getty 15/30 June 10, 2014 Wearing snakeskin kitten-heel courts as she arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Carl Court/AFP/Getty 16/30 June 11, 2014 Wearing patent red flats with pink bow detailing as she leaves the Royal United Services Institute Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 17/30 September 30, 2014 Wearing navy suede courts with a chunky heel as she addresses the Conservative Party Conference Matt Cardy/Getty 18/30 March 3, 2015 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives for a Ceremonial Welcome for the President of Mexico Leon Neal/AFP/Getty 19/30 May 21, 2015 Wearing gold studded black flats as she and David Cameron are accompanied by immigration enforcement officers into a home in Southall in London following an early morning raid on the property that yielded three arrests of illegal immigrants Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty 20/30 July 8, 2015 Wearing black pointed flats with a red and pink kiss print as she leaves 10 Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 21/30 October 6, 2015 Wearing black suede courts with a chunky heel on the third day of the annual Conservative party conference Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty 22/30 October 7, 2015 Wearing red, yellow and turquoise printed courts as she arrives for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty 23/30 March 22, 2016 Wearing black suede shoe boots with a leopard print insert as she leaves 10 Downing Street Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty 24/30 July 12, 2016 Wearing leopard print pointed flats as she leaves after attending a Cabinet meeting at Downing Street Carl Court/Getty 25/30 December 15, 2004 Wearing calf-length suede boots in plum as she arrives at the 'Woman's Own Children Of Courage Award' at Westminster Abbey MJ Kim/Getty 26/30 September 30, 2007 Wearing yellow and black patterned wellies during the 124th annual Conservative Party Conference at the Winter Gardens Christopher Furlong/Getty 27/30 November 8, 2007 Wearing black pointed courts with silver ankle strap as she arrives at the Woman Of The Future Awards Jo Hale/Getty 28/30 April 26, 2009 Wearing open-toe leopard print flats to speak at the Conservative Party Spring Forum Matt Cardy/Getty 29/30 June 15, 2010 Wearing a patent red wedge as she arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 30/30 July 6, 2010 Wearing rainbow striped pointed pumps as she arrives in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 1/30 November 4, 2014 Wearing leopard print kitten-heel courts as she leaves Downing Street after attending cabinet Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 2/30 October 5, 2009 Wearing red and black snakeskin courts on the stage as they address delegates at the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty 3/30 October 5, 2004 Wearing powder blue and black floral patterned ballet pumps as she arrives at the Bournemouth International Conference Center Jim Watson/AFP/Getty 4/30 December 9, 2010 Wearing knee-high red suede boot as she leaves a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Matthew Lloyd/Getty 5/30 November 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives on Horse Guards in central London during the visit of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Sean Dempsey/AFP/Getty 6/30 June 27, 2016 Wearing pointed leopard print courts to a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street Leon Neal/AFP/Getty 7/30 May 3, 2011 Wearing patent powder blue court shoes as she arrives in Downing Street to attend a Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty 8/30 October 9, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts with a burgundy print insert to deliver her speech to delegates during the third day of the annual Conservative Party Conference Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty 9/30 October 16, 2012 Wearing pointed leopard print courts as she arrives at Number 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting Oli Scarff/Getty 10/30 February 5, 2013 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she walks into Downing Street to attend a security meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 11/30 March 17, 2014 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she launches HMC Protector Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 12/30 June 5, 2013 Wearing pointed black patent sling backs as she attends the preview party for The Royal Academy Of Arts Summer Exhibition Tim P. Whitby/Getty 13/30 June 23, 2013 Wearing Union Jack emblazoned trainers as she presents medals during the third day of the 2013 Samsung World Rowing Cup II at Eton Dorney 14/30 September 30, 2013 Wearing black lace up patent brogues with diamond studs as she delivers her speech in the main hall on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference Oli Scarff/Getty 15/30 June 10, 2014 Wearing snakeskin kitten-heel courts as she arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street Carl Court/AFP/Getty 16/30 June 11, 2014 Wearing patent red flats with pink bow detailing as she leaves the Royal United Services Institute Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 17/30 September 30, 2014 Wearing navy suede courts with a chunky heel as she addresses the Conservative Party Conference Matt Cardy/Getty 18/30 March 3, 2015 Wearing over-the-knee patent boots as she arrives for a Ceremonial Welcome for the President of Mexico Leon Neal/AFP/Getty 19/30 May 21, 2015 Wearing gold studded black flats as she and David Cameron are accompanied by immigration enforcement officers into a home in Southall in London following an early morning raid on the property that yielded three arrests of illegal immigrants Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty 20/30 July 8, 2015 Wearing black pointed flats with a red and pink kiss print as she leaves 10 Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 21/30 October 6, 2015 Wearing black suede courts with a chunky heel on the third day of the annual Conservative party conference Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty 22/30 October 7, 2015 Wearing red, yellow and turquoise printed courts as she arrives for the fourth and final day of the Conservative Party Conference Christopher Furlong/Getty 23/30 March 22, 2016 Wearing black suede shoe boots with a leopard print insert as she leaves 10 Downing Street Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty 24/30 July 12, 2016 Wearing leopard print pointed flats as she leaves after attending a Cabinet meeting at Downing Street Carl Court/Getty 25/30 December 15, 2004 Wearing calf-length suede boots in plum as she arrives at the 'Woman's Own Children Of Courage Award' at Westminster Abbey MJ Kim/Getty 26/30 September 30, 2007 Wearing yellow and black patterned wellies during the 124th annual Conservative Party Conference at the Winter Gardens Christopher Furlong/Getty 27/30 November 8, 2007 Wearing black pointed courts with silver ankle strap as she arrives at the Woman Of The Future Awards Jo Hale/Getty 28/30 April 26, 2009 Wearing open-toe leopard print flats to speak at the Conservative Party Spring Forum Matt Cardy/Getty 29/30 June 15, 2010 Wearing a patent red wedge as she arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty 30/30 July 6, 2010 Wearing rainbow striped pointed pumps as she arrives in Downing Street Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

Still, Trudeau’s footwear has not been without its critics. Keyboard warriors have been swift to suggest the coincidence of Gay Pride and Eid iconography is poorly placed — Turkey banned its own Pride parades last weekend, while many Muslim countries persecute or sometimes even kill gay people.

Nevertheless, they have many influential admirers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was seen bending down to admire Trudeau’s choice at the last Nato summit, a sure-fire sign of mutual respect on the international stage.

Trudeau, it has been argued, is stepping into the not inconsiderable shoes of Barack Obama. Statement socks are a good way to fill them.

@fish_o_wick