The "It" Shoes You'll Soon See Everywhere
The Sex and the City-driven feminine shoe period is in the past.
Fashion is not in a feminine shoe moment. “In general, the idea of a pretty or elegant shoe feels extremely dated,” said Diana Tsui, stylist, fashion editor, and author of A Concept Store here on Substack. The Sex and the City Manolos with the embellished toe and rich blue satin are of a bygone shoe era. Now, designers are striving for “a good ugly,” Diana said. “Stereotypical femininity feels very restrictive. Dressing for the female gaze versus the male gaze seems to ebb the norm.” In an age when women’s rights are under such threat, it’s hard not to view this through a sociopolitical lens.
Diana and I worked together at New York magazine’s The Cut beginning in 2008 — she did some of its earliest shopping content while I blogged — and now that we’re both here on Substack, I asked her to help me figure out which shoes would be the “It” footwear from the spring 2025 show season.
Sneakers and loafers are still ubiquitous as designers continue to show more and more flat options. But a lot of shoes, aside from not being overtly feminine, didn’t fit a mold. We saw everything from dangerously high platform heels to kitten-heeled jelly flip-flops to plenty of low “grandma heels,” as the Guardian’s Jess Cartner-Morley termed them.
Ahead, Diana and I discuss the “It” shoes from the spring shows.
Miuccia Prada revived vintage shoe styles for her spring 2025 show, which I’m on the record as being underwhelmed by. Diana disagreed with me — she loved the show, which she attended in Milan, and said people were “losing their shit” over these shoes. To ensure that consumers buy the new version instead of scouring for the real vintage pieces, the designs of the news ones have been slightly edited — one less strap here, a different color palette there.
There’s no denying the influence Prada and Miu Miu have right now. While other luxury brands are sputtering into the end of the year after lower than expected third-quarter earnings, Miu Miu sashayed onto the scene with an A+ report, like Carrie Bradshaw entering a Parisian bridge in Valentino couture. Miu Miu revenue more than doubled in the third quarter (though “absolute numbers are not big,” CEO Andrea Guerra told investors). The hype over the spring 2025 show seemed to set them up for continued success.
And the shoe story Miu Miu told this season is one of sock parts. A sock hem that got in bed with an otherwise plain shower slide/clog hybrid. A leg warmer that found solace in a peep-toe pump. I suspect the casualization of dressing makes a lot of people feel like they don’t need to buy anything new. But this was a clever way to nod to casual with a fresh-feeling idea. “I feel like we'll be seeing a lot of sporty layering with heels,” Diana said.
Like it or not, boho is coming back.
Chloé went viral by dressing all its front-row influencer types in those gigantic wooden platforms that could really do some damage to enemy shins. In Chemena Kamali’s second show, the brand iterated by showing those shoes in jelly material. Also in jelly material: flip-flop kitten heels, which almost look like a mistake, but will probably be knocked off everywhere. “Consider them the extension of the jelly sandals trend that popped up this summer,” said Diana.
A lot of this Bottega runway stuff is too expensive to reproduce at scale and become a mass trend (remember the fringed skirt with the same sticker price as a hybrid Honda Civic?). But the bunny-ear pumps and frog sandals — a reference to the $10,000 animal bean bags guests sat on to watch the show — just felt FUN at a time when fashion takes itself seriously enough to price skirts the same as cars.
“Bally is THE brand,” Diana said. This is thanks to new designer Simone Bellotti, who worked for Bottega and Dolce & Gabbana before putting in 16 years at Gucci. Per T magazine, he enjoys sound design as a hobby, has two perfect gray cats, and is driving his third 1990 Saab 900 Turbo Aero. A lot of what people like about Bally is the shoes, which are kind of giving “if Taylor Swift were edgy.”
Creative director Sabato de Sarno is leaning into the horsebit motif and has been pushing it for boots. Once you get over the shock of “a loafer — but up to THERE?” you can appreciate them as a wearable shoe. They’re utterly impractical for spring, but seasons hardly matter in these collections anymore.
Diana suggested just this single style of loafer from Tod’s. I was like, “Anything else to fill out my graphic?” And she said no. Just these. Because who knew this could come from Tod’s?
I am on record as not enjoying this Valentino show at all. Diana said what I’m mostly reacting to is the styling (the lace tights of it all!). I will admit after she pointed out these shoes, I could see the merit in them. However, will this will be the shoe moment new creative director Alessandro Michele has surely been hired to help create — the second-coming of the Rockstud that Valentino’s owners have been bloodthirsty for since, like, 2016?
What do you think of these shoes? Which are your favorites? Sound off in the comments!
Thank you, Diana, for joining me in Back Row today! Subscribe to A_Concept Store on Substack to read more from her.
Loose Threads
The CFDA Awards (the Oscars of fashion) took place this week in New York but felt rather quiet, likely owing to the election being just days away. (Many of you read from abroad but trust me when I say politics is as inescapable as gravity in the U.S. right now.) Luar’s Raul Lopez won for accessory design; Willy Chavarria won for menswear; and Diotima’s Rachel Scott won for womenswear. Chavarria said in his acceptance speech, “I do know that so many people in this room are very concerned about their rights, and very concerned about our existence as a people, as women, as immigrants, as people of color, as queer people, trans people — there is a lot to be concerned about. And I know that many of us in this room are concerned for ourselves. I want to remind us that we need to talk to the people who may not be concerned about their own rights... It’s not just for us to worry about, it’s for everyone to worry about. And it’s not just in fashion, which is what we’re all here for, but our lives and our communities and our country.”
Speaking of the election overtaking everything in the news, this was good timing for Mango to roll out its new ads, featuring real clothing and AI models. Mango CEO Tony Ruiz said the AI models allow for “faster content creation.”
Marc Jacobs to WSJ. on whether or not he’d design for a European luxury house again: “There’s only one job I want, and I haven’t been asked to do it.” That would be Chanel.
The only thing you need to read about Gisele’s third pregnancy is Allie Jones’s Gossip Time report: “Bündchen shares two children with Brady: Benjamin, 14, and Vivian, 11. She was also a stepmom to Brady’s son Jack, 17, with Bridget Moynahan. Valente, who is either 35 or 37 depending on which tabloid you’re reading, has no children.”
If you want to learn more about Leslie Fremar, who is reportedly styling Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Holmes ran an excellent explainer in her newsletter So Many Thoughts. Fremar started her career as Anna Wintour’s assistant, and was reportedly the inspiration for Emily Blunt’s character.
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I am here for the low heels! Maybe it’s decades of conditioning or my actual personal taste, but I still like a feminine shoe — with a heel at 2 inches or lower, however.
LOVE the punk Bally shoes! But would burn my feet off rather than wear the Gucci Horsebit Boot...