Traditionally, footwear has been secured to the foot by means of a strip of material or thong. Early man discovered that removal and resecuring could be made relatively simple by forming holes near the edges of the material forming the footwear and threading the strip of material alternately through the holes of adjacent edges. Thus, was invented the first "shoelace" which has changed remarkably little in the intervening thousands of years.
Not only does the shoelace provide the necessary function, loafers and the like aside, of ensuring satisfactory securing onto the foot, but it provides important decoration as well. Laces are made in a wide variety of patterns and colors to provide the wearer with an opportunity to use the lace as an accessory. And there is no doubt that these traditional laces perform these functions or they would not still be in near universal use after all these years.
However, the traditional lace does have several drawbacks, notwithstanding its virtues and near universality. One of those is the limited area of the lace which is available for view and hence the limited visual impact a lace decoration can have. It is true that the lace width can be increased somewhat, but increasing the width makes drawing the lace through the holes more difficult. Also, the cross-section of the lace is invariably compressed and the lace deformed under tension, reducing its decorative impact.
Secondly, threading the laces through the holes is a time consuming operation requiring manual dexterity. It is impractical to change the laces as often as a fashion conscious person might change other accessories, and yet given the option that is exactly what many, particularly young, people would very much like to do.
Thirdly, the fact that laces are so universal establishes a need for an alternative from a fashion standpoint. After all, it is the ability to choose which is fundamental to fashion.