When Gal Gadot wore flat sandals with her red sequined Givenchy gown for the premiere of “Wonder Woman” in 2017, it caused a commotion. Despite shifting beauty norms, wearing flats on the red carpet was and still is not commonplace; most actresses opt for a height-boosting heeled sandal or pump.
At the time, the actress spoke out on the matter, telling USA Today, “That’s something I’ve been saying for years, that I want to create this trend of doing red carpets in flats. I love wearing high heels [but] it puts us out of balance. We can fall any minute. It’s not good for our backs. Why do we do it?”
Oscar de la Renta designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia implied the same question at their spring ’19 show on Tuesday at New York Fashion Week through their footwear choices.
For the most part, the clothing stayed the same in all of its society-tinged glory, with floral-printed pajama separates and silk robes, caftans and, of course, evening gowns, all of which had a travel vibe, with many woven pieces, exotic prints and raffia- and fringe-trimmed accessories.
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But what was markedly different was the pairing of flat sandals with many of those evening gowns, a styling choice that made the looks more casual but also gave more power to the model’s walk.
And they weren’t even very sparkly. While there is a whole submarket of “evening flats” that tend to have rhinestones, sequins, glitter or other sparkly embellishments, most of the sandals shown in the collection were less complicated, with woven leather, leather fringe or fringed raffia details. There was not a sparkle in sight.
There were still some heels in the collection, though most had a sturdy block heel done in a cylinder shape and ranged in the 2- to 4-inch heel range.
All of the footwear mimicked the ready-to-wear, handbags and jewelry in travel-inspired details, and the collection as a whole has the potential to be the ultimate vacation wardrobe come spring.
