As the fashion marathon reached its final stop in Paris, it offered a clearer picture of what’s going to trend in shoe land come next season.
For one, shows in the French capital consolidated the elevation of flip-flops with new iterations of thong sandals dominating the local catwalks, which also continued to fuel the ballet core craze with different takes on flats, legwarmers and even toeless socks. Other novelties included sneakers’ great comeback and the mushrooming of laced-up mannish shoes, which were favored by a pool of brands to offset their feminine fashions.
Here’s a cheat sheet to master the latest footwear trends.
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Thong Sandals
After Milan, brands in Paris continued to revisit the quintessential summer must-have shoe, showing range in their interpretations. These ran the gamut from the plastic version in pastel tones of Chloé’s cool girls to the sporty hybrids paraded at Miu Miu and Casablanca. More arty touches flourished at McQueen and Paula Canovas Del Vas, while at Carven and Paloma Wool a minimal approach conveyed ‘90s vibes. Ditto for brands including Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Nehera, that kept things timeless with black versions of the style.
Sneakers’ Comeback
Sneakers fans, rejoice! After few seasons of more dressed-up footwear options such as flats, mary janes and kitten heels taking the spotlight, sneakers are back in the game. Once again, Miuccia Prada led the way with her Miu Miu show, displaying designs with extra-flat soles, which also appeared at McQueen and Gabriela Hearst. Yet there’s a sub-category that was predominant and hard to miss: boxing shoes, aka high-top sneakers with flats soles that got the luxe treatment at the likes of Loewe and Stella McCartney and were taken to the extreme at Dior and Ann Demeulemeester.
Balletcore
If boxing is not really your thing, indulge in the balletcore craze. Brands shed new light on the dainty and comfy aesthetics, which follows in the footsteps of the all-about-flats trend seen in New York and Milan this season. Many labels spiced flats up with crafty techniques, as seen at Acne Studio, or laced up options, like at Chloé and Dries Van Noten. A fetish vibe infiltrated in the leather version favored by Ludovic de Saint Sernin and in Louis Vuitton’s bold take on flats, while distressed effects marked Stefano Gallici’s interpretation of the ballet style at Ann Demeulemeester. Leg warmers further build on the trend, as seen at shows ranging from Miu Miu to Rokh.
Lace It Up
As a counterpoint, fashion houses also looked at the men’s shoe rack to revisit Oxford styles that could ground their ready-to-wear collections and enable them to play with the feminine and masculine duality. Highlights included Jonathan Anderson’s take on men’s dress shoes for Loewe, where the designer stretched the silhouette to exaggerated length for an almost cartoon-like effect. Styles at Vivienne Westwood had a similar vibe, only reworked in a pointy toe, which also marked Victoria Beckham’s interpretation of the design, often rendered in a plastic version, too.
Slouchy Boots
The boho wave kickstarted with Chemena Kamali’s successful debut collection at Chloé earlier this year still trickled in some shows and the footwear options they displayed. Yet new interpretations of the slouchy boots found their way on the catwalks, from the sleek one seen at Balmain and Rick Owens to the extra-glam disco-ball version spotted at Rabanne.
