Paris Fashion Week went out on a footwear high note at Miu Miu. While a variety of choice allowed for a runway lineup consisting of all the season’s key shapes (pointed toes, Mary Janes and block heels), it was a loafer style that wins the season’s final Shoe of the Day distinction.
Done in animal prints — from reptile to leopard — and fashioned with a big buckle, sloping-heel loafers encapsulated the season: retro lines reworked, fur textures and a sturdy profile.
Laurence Dacade has pursued experimental designs at Chanel, but this season, the footwear designer espoused a more classic viewpoint with cap-toe slingbacks. The look was reminiscent of Coco Chanel’s signature cap-toe heels, a style she pioneered in the 1950s to create the illusion of leg length.
Shoe designer Pierre Hardy made good use of Hermès’ ample crocodile supply with tall boots in racing green. While undeniably luxe and classic in spirit, the style was very much in tune with the current penchant for tall boots in unexpected fabrications.
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Céline showed an airier take on last season’s block-heel ballet flat, this time in an open weave with pastel jeweled bits and bobs dripping from the distinctly duck-billed toe. Meanwhile, Junya Watanabe took the trend toward decorative legwear in a whole other direction, using the shin as a sketchpad. It added made-you-look whimsy to tough studded oxfords.
Isabel Marant’s mid-heel totem-pole patchwork over-the-knee boots nicely recaptured the allure of what the Marant woman stands for: louche, slightly bohemian in attitude, with seduction worn lightly.
Over at Balmain, designer Olivier Rousteing’s tasseled pumps in a very sensible beige would have appeared slightly preppy were they not jolted with metallic paneling and paired with early ’90s silk minidresses and vampy sheer hosiery.
Dries Van Noten’s collection merged ornate princess pieces with military elements. It was only fitting that footwear followed suit with chunky cylindrical boots and sandals done in decorative brocades.
On March 3, FN reported:
As Fashion Month reaches its crescendo in Paris, forward-looking fall 2015 footwear statements with an emphasis on newness are de rigueur.
The first Shoe of the Day from the City of Light belonged to Anthony Vaccarello. The newly appointed Versus designer worked again with Stella Luna on a very Parisian roundup of stiletto sandals and booties. This season they came styled with slouched socks and outsize eagle embellishments.
