At Miu Miu, eccentric sloping block-heel loafers were tricked out with everything from animal prints to glitter.
Louis Vuitton applied wide, tech-y strapping to a series of mixed-media pumps and booties.
Alexander McQueen showed streamlined, chisel-toe mid-calf boots, while Valentino finished ruffled lace looks with zippy tall boots.
Laurence Dacade has pursued experimental footwear designs for Chanel, but this season, he embraced a classic viewpoint with cap-toe slingbacks.
Hedi Slimane continued his bad-girl message at Saint Laurent, with chain-embellished ankle stiletto boots to match.
Sonia Rykiel continued the season’s playful sock message with a cashmere grey pair peeking out of brown leather pointed boots.
Stella McCartney stuck to a mid-calf cut this season, offered in dark neutrals and a burnout velvet-printed take. Note the newness of the round toe.
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Designer Pierre Hardy made good use of Hermès’ ample crocodile supply with tall boots in racing green.
At Sacai, a chunky combat boot was expertly styled with matching liquid-pleather leggings — a smart chic approach to winter doldrum dressing.
Giambattista Valli took racy lacing full tilt with over-the-knee stiletto boots.
Chloe took cues from its house codes with laced-up bowling boots.
For her Ç x Facconable offshoot, designer Mira Mikati again treated slip-on sneakers as a cheerful canvas for patch graphics.
Givenchy helped kickstart a late-breaking Paris runway trend: mid-calf boots, shown here in chocolate stretch leather.
Elie Saab updated the tall boot with an open toe in an earthy green suede. It was a welcome departure from the more obvious stilettos and booties.
At Thierry Mugler, designer David Koma paired grommeted looks with high-exposure mesh and metallic stiletto booties.
Junya Watanabe took the decorative-legwear trend in a whole other direction, using the shin as a sketchpad. It added “made-you-look” whimsy to tough studded oxfords.
Alexander Wang went the dainty-pump route with a see-through, capped-toe style for Balenciaga. One wishes he would show the same footwear risk-taking in Paris as he does for his eponymous collection in New York.
And add John Galliano at Margiela to the list of designers hell-bent on making footwear as furry as possible. The death knell for this runway trick better be coming soon.
For his increasingly studied Loewe collections, designer J.W. Anderson featured modish knee-high, trim-cut boots with graphic detailing along the squared-off toe.
At Lanvin, it was a footwear feast, with everything from reptile drawstring heeled boots to flat riding styles taking a runway stroll.
Over at Dior, footwear designer Francesco Russo reworked the couture collection’s fetishistic boots in abstract prints and with ombre-tinted lucite heels. The combination would spell Sex Shop were it not for the sophisticated chisel toe and ladylike apparel shapes.
Speaking of shapes, Isabel Marant stuck with miltary-inspired buttoned boots for her easy lineup.
Maiyet also saw the merit of a substantial black boot, grounding silk separates with kiltie styles, shown in both cropped and tall versions and featuring gold hardware along the back.
Carven’s new design duo, Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud, centered their first footwear proposition around a seasonless slingback bootie worn with striped socks. The lilac hue matched the show invite, but the style also came in snappy prints.
Balmain showed many floor-sweeping, footwear-obscuring looks this season, making a flash of orchid suede pumps all the more welcome.
Manish Arora couldn’t have timed his eccentric neon-laced winter boots for a better moment: During the presentation, North America’s Eastern Seaboard was pounded by a snowstorm.
Barbara Bui is known for her sleek boots, which this season came pointed, flat and pull-on for added speed.
At Paco Rabbane, heritage disc dressing was tempered with glossy black flats.
Roland Mouret paired all of his looks with leather ankle boots featuring toe-to-ankle gold zips, quite like the ones that line the back of his whittled dresses.
Patent boots with stark white heels matched the high-shine apparel at Cédric Charlier.
Christophe Lemaire finished his always sedately elegant collection with ankle-strap ballerinas.
Mod boots in primary hues cut a clean line at Courrèges.
What’s the ultimate in minimalist footwear? Bare feet — as seen at Jacquemus.
Anthony Vaccarello worked again with Stella Luna on a very Parisian roundup of stiletto sandals and booties. They came styled with slouched socks and featured outsize emblem embellishment.
Anne Sofie Madsen paired geometric print pieces with pinkish boots trimmed in chain.
Armani ended Milan Fashion Week with en pointe twist-tie pumps with cutout detailing at the vamp.
Dsquared2 showed a top-to-toe ode to Canada for the brand’s 20th anniversary. Stilettos featured beading, fur touches and tassels inspired by the traditional mukluks and moccasins of the First Nations people. They were paired with outdoorsy socks, a playful send-up of lumberjack sartorialism.
Dolce & Gabbana decorated a series of strappy styles with faux blooms for very real romance.
Missoni applied the the season’s key footwear hue — russet brown – to pointed booties.
MSGM experimented with stretch materials in a multitude of brights for over-the-knee boots with graphic heel- and toe-capping.
Marni’s python boots came with purposefully unfinished edges for a raw spin.
Velvet boots added rich texture and an autumnal spin to abbreviated hemlines at Emilio Pucci.
Fur slide sandals had quirk to spare at Antonio Marras.
Gold foil low boots with buckles at the toe were a flashy finishing touch at Bottega Veneta. It was a refreshing departure from the label’s usually sedate footwear statements.
Speaking of sedate, limiting leopard print to calf-hair boots was a wise move at Roberto Cavalli.
Gold platforms on Versace sandals and boots came carved with signature Greek key graphics, also printed on matching hosiery. Consider it the maximalist’s approach to socks and sandals.
Marco de Vincenzo and Bluemarine both showed plush takes on the two-piece sandal, while Sportmax added bounce to wallaby-style wedges with a crepe sole.
Blugirl went in a slightly more grown-up direction for fall, pairing menswear tailoring and ’40s dustbowl frocks with tri-tone brogues. They were shown as a traditional flat or with a thick stacked heel.
In a collection inspired by Marilyn Monroe, Max Mara channeled the screen siren’s “men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses” (and brogues, in this case) persona.
Suede-paneled booties in coordinating ’70s color combos finished looks at Just Cavalli.
Full shapes dominated at Fendi, including plush sheared-fur boots.
Hogan also played with boot proportion, showing a laced, over-the-knee hybrid sneaker wedge style, made sweet in pastel hues.
Milan Fashion Week got off to an uncharacteristically buzzy start at Gucci with designer Alessandro Michele’s womenswear debut. While long-hair wooly mammoth loafers might have stolen the show (and blown up Instagram,) there was a trimmed-down version of the horsebit classic, sprouting a comparatively tame burst of fur.
Fausto Puglisi likes to err on the side of loud — from wide-leg over-the-knee boots in zebra to his cranked-volume EDM show soundtrack.
A more soft-spoken take was seen at Alberta Ferretti, whose tall velvet boots had czarina refinement with suede patchwork and signature intricate embroidery.
Stella Jean showed sandals and slip-ons for fall ’15, styles typically reserved for spring, yet made it year-round with luxe sock styling.
What could be more British than Wellington boots to combat stormy weather? Nothing, according to Hunter, which continues to update the staple style, this season with gaiters and wedge heels or Chelsea shapes.
Another shapeshifter, Nicholas Kirkwood, mashed up a loafer, a suede sockette and a bootie to brilliant effect for Roksanda Ilincic.
Keeping busy with a daunting creative output, Kirkwood was also responsible for the runway footwear at Peter Pilotto (swirl cutout styles), Thomas Tait (stretch leather boots with orb heels) and Erdem (polo-ready pairs).
Another notable collaboration was from Rupert Sanderson, who lifted designer Antonio Berardi’s vibrant prints, applying them to pointed runway bootines.
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi’s color-blocked Victorian-style buckled harness boots had a foot in the past and the present.
Mary Katrantzou countered her pepto-pink foam runway with delightfully clompy ankle-strap platforms in velvet. The footwear was again in collaboration with Italian designer Gianvito Rossi.
Topshop Unique featured chain-strap sandals with turn-lock buckle detail, also seen on boot and loafer pumps.
Bionda Castana crafted covetable fringe bootines for Matthew Williamson’s runway in a boho palette of lemon, lilac, peacock blue and luggage brown.
For the first time, David Koma enlisted fellow London designer Mary Alice Malone of Malone Souliers to create a grouping of graphic T-bar pumps and pointed boot styles.
London Fashion Week kicked off with straight-cut wader boots at Gareth Pugh. In keeping with the theme, J.W. Anderson showed kinky boots in red and yellow leathers, completed with side metallic spheres.
Meanwhile, Apu Jan broke from the pack with flatform lace-up sneakers that were water-printed.
Previously posted on Friday, February 20th:
New York Fashion Week has ushered in a bevy of new fall ’15 shoes and a number of newsy footwear highlights.
Proenza Schouler, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs ended the season on a high note with showstopping footwear statements that had to be seen to be believed.
At Oscar de la Renta, house footwear designer Daniel Lawler worked with new creative director Peter Copping on his first outing for the label. Pointed-toe mules and pumps (some with lace bows sprouting from the heel) got things off to a particularly poised start.
Tory Burch had a seventies swagger by way of Laurel Canyon with tall boots, plus hippyish socks and sandals duets. At J. Crew, leopard print and glitter-dusted heels had considerable verve.
Kanye West debuted his much-hyped Boost shoe line at a star-studded Adidas show (stars in attendance included Beyonce, Jay-Z and Kim Kardashian). Coach debuted its take on ski boots, some lined with shearling, while BCBGMAXAZRIA stuck to a more alluring message with thigh-high leather boots. Perhaps the most extreme style seen thus far came clomping down the Alexander Wang runway in the form of neo-goth flatworm combat boots.
Jason Wu furthered its shoe offering with pointed leather ankle boots, which featured a triangular gold heel. At Tommy Hilfiger, varsity themes were explored for the umpteenth time, while at Altuzarra, two unique references (Victorian dandies and Truman Capote’s swans) were merged to spectacular effect in fetishistic ruffled lace up boots. Victoria Beckham again opted for a clunky silhouette, settling on chunky-heeled boots with a squared-off toe.
In collaboration news, Gio Diev worked with Sally LaPointe for the first time this season on sleek snakeskin mules. Additionally, Bionda Castana did simple suede block-heeled sandals for Honor. Paul Andrew also designed the shoes at Tanya Taylor, presenting chunky platforms with printed soles.
To see the top shoes of the season, click through the gallery.
