How Phoebe Philo Defined the ‘Ugly’ Shoe at Céline

During her 10-year tenure as creative director at Céline, Phoebe Philo‘s pragmatic yet luxurious designs cemented the designer as one of the most important visionaries and iconoclasts in modern fashion. The designer’s intimate and innate knowledge of what women both need (the practical, the multipurpose, the appropriate) and want (the fantastical, the sumptuous, and the powerful statement) led to bestsellers like the Luggage tote, the Trapeze bag, the scarf-print pajama shirt and the heavy-hardware brass belt, to name a few. The designer’s time at Céline also earned an approximate $500 million increase in sales for the brand since she took helm in 2008.

Even years after her departure from Céline, Philo’s work for the brand has continued to resonate with the fashion world, as a loyal legion of enthusiasts and collectors still seek and trade Céline pieces from the era. When designer Hedi Slimane took the creative helm at the brand in 2018 — and removed the accent mark, renaming the brand “Celine,” Philo fans rebelled, holding impromptu gatherings where collectors could display their precious wares. The movement crystalized with the creation of “Old Céline,” a blog and Instagram account dedicated to the work that Philo and her team did at Céline from 2008 to 2018. It has also morphed into a catchphrase and something of an aesthetic shorthand for the fashion and design crowd.

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Celine Spring 2013 Shoes — Philo’s fur-lined orthopedic-style shoes at Céline’s spring ’13 show.

Philo’s time at Céline spurring the creation of pieces that have now come to define the “ugly” shoe movement, a mega trend that continues to dominate the runways today. The aesthetic has also helped to turn the very definition of beauty on its head; it was Philo, after all, who debuted orthopedic, Birkenstock-style sandals — with fur lining, no less — for Céline’s spring 2013 runway. Four years later, Birkenstock debuted its own shearling-lined version of its iconic Arizona sandal. And that was only the beginning: The German brand’s success and IPO in 2023 — not to mention the myriad Arizona sandal and Boston clog knockoffs from other brands — could all very well be traced back to Philo’s footwear decisions at Céline.

There were more subtle examples, too, of Philo’s comfortable luxury approach to footwear while at Céline. Geometric heels from the artsy spring ’14 collection and inverted triangles on white leather pumps from the fall ’16 collection were sleek and architectural but also provided more stability. Block heels, in stabilizing mid-heights, were present in various collections through the decade. And Philo’s penchant for wearing Stan Smith sneakers while taking a bow on the runway undoubtedly helped to cement the shoe’s reign as the sneaker for the fashion industry during that time. It could also be argued that the trend ignited an even broader influence on the sneaker market, bringing fashion and athletic brands together for all of the collaborations that are now part and parcel in the industry.

British fashion designer Phoebe Philo acknowledges the audience at the end of the Celine 2015 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show, on September 28, 2014 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS GUILLOT (Photo credit should read FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP via Getty Images) — Phoebe Philo at the finale of the Céline spring ’15 show in September 2014 during Paris Fashion Week.

After years of speculation and rumors, the designer finally made her comeback in 2023, with the launch of her eponymous Phoebe Philo brand, backed by LVMH. The online-only, limited edition collection debuted on the designer’s site in late October, eschewing the traditional fashion calendar in favor of in-season drops that focus on targeted supply and demand as part of the new brand’s sustainability efforts. From the two drops that have launched so far, Philo’s footwear offering has stayed firmly in the “quiet luxury” lane, with slim heeled loafers, soft leather pumps with high vamps and squared toes populating the collection.

Where the designer goes with her new brand is an open-ended question for many in fashion.