Innovation and collaboration were the key takeaways from the fall/winter 2024 season of Paris Fashion Week Men’s, which officially wrapped up on Sunday night.
While Paris Fashion Week all but guarantees new and interesting footwear each season, this week delivered exciting new collaborations from Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garçons, Botter and Junya Watanabe as well as new shoe trends from Dior, Balmain and Loewe.
Some eye-catching styles this season came in the form of Dior’s focus on the ballet flat for men, Balmain’s lip print accented silhouettes and Louis Vuitton’s upcoming boot collab with Timberland. Here, FN rounds up the top 10 men’s shoes of Paris Fashion Week for fall/winter 2024.
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Amiri
Amplifying the Americana attitude, designer Mike Amiri debuted the new stacked loafers for his fall/winter 2024 collection. The shoe plays into the platform loafer trend we saw in Milan and is offered in leather and suede versions. The loafer was also seen with accent detailing like leopard print pony skin or hand-encrusted crystal ornamentation.
Balmain
Olivier Rousteing’s fall ’24 Balmain men’s collection was perhaps one of the most beautiful of the week. The overall offering felt both luxurious and whimsical. Lips repeated as a key motif across all categories this season. Red kiss prints can be seen on Rousteing’s version of a man’s pair of ballet flats. They also make an appearance on the toe of a pair of patent leather pull-on boots, which features a slight Cuban heel.
Comme des Garçons
Comme des Garçons was back this season with another Nike collaboration. This time, the duo has chosen to reimagine Nike’s Air Max TL 2.5 sneaker. Some of the elements that CDG has refined in the model include removing the big Nike swoosh on the upper and reducing it to a small, subtle swoosh. The brand also chose to tuck the shoelaces into the interior of the shoes to have a streamlined upper appearance. The sneaker was seen on the runway in two colorways, an all-white version and a black and white colorway.
Dior
Ballet flats were the shoe du jour in Kim Jones’ fall/winter 2024 Dior men’s collection. Echoing a dancing slipper while also drawing on masculine eveningwear traditions, Dior’s new men’s ballet flat is featured in a San Crispino leather construction in black. There’s also a softer silk or satin ballet slipper with elastic straps that go along the top of the foot, which features an all-over diamond quilting stitched upper in black, taupe, burgundy, and purple colorways.
Hermès
The French luxury label had three main footwear moments during its fall/winter 2024 men’s show this weekend. These models include a new ankle boot and derby dress shoe, both made in calfskin and featuring a raised notched sole. The third standout is another ankle boot made of calfskin, but this time produced without the raised sole, but equally as appealing.
Junya Watanabe
The shoe seen all over Instagram this weekend was a surprise collab between Junya Watanabe Man and New Balance. The collaborative style is a hybrid sneaker-meets-loafer silhouette in all black. The upper features a traditional leather penny loafer construction with Junya Watanabe Man branding at the tongue of the shoe, while the sole is a patent leather sneaker bottom. And according to show notes, there is a second colorway on the way that wasn’t shown during the show. We’re betting on an all-white version.
KidSuper
Always one for a complex show concept, KidSuper founder and designer Colm Dillane explored the idea of string theory, which aims to solve the contradictions between Einstein’s theory of relativity and Quantum theory. The multi-dimensional collection saw the debut of a new apparel driven KidSuper collab with Canada Goose. As for footwear, Dillane launched a new hiking boot in several striking colorways, sure to brighten up any dull winter outfit.
Loewe
While Jonathan Anderson did a great job offering a wide range of shoe silhouettes this season at Loewe, the designer’s new skate sneakers stood out from the pack. The low-top models reference popular skate shoe designs, tweaked with a slightly exaggerated toe box. There are solid and two-tone colored upper options that seem to harken back to the Authentic canvas sneaker model from Vans. This model was seen in a black and white combo as well as a light purple, and multi-colored terry upper version. A black and white sneaker with gum sole detailing that takes design cues from a classic Chuck Taylor was also seen on the runway.
Louis Vuitton
The star shoes of Pharrell Williams’ third men’s show for Louis Vuitton came with the grand reveal of the French luxury brand’s new collaboration with Timberland. First teased earlier this month on social media by Williams, the collection features the classic American work boots reinterpreted through the creative lens of Louis Vuitton. Highlights include a classic industrial boot is proposed in wheat-colored or black waterproof nubuck leather, debossed with the maison’s monogram.
Valentino
For his return to the menswear show calendar, Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli explores the color blue and how it relates to masculinity. While some hits of blue were seen in a new sneaker model for the Italian luxury house, it was less prevalent in Piccioli’s dress shoe range. A standout style was a new lace-up brogue dress shoe with rock stud detailing that follows the seams of where the pieces of the upper come together.
