Milan’s fashion weeks are generally known for their maximalist ready-to-wear, but for fall ’18, designers turned up the volume on the shoes as well, presenting collections where the footwear took center stage. It strode out loud and proud with boldly colored hues and overblown proportions.
Backstage after the Marni show, house designer Francesco Risso told FN that “the footwear was the most important thing in the collection.” His zip-up laboratory-style boots and chunky sandals came with exaggerated soles in poppy primary colors, while sneakers had similarly big personalities, like “a child putting on his father’s shoes,” said the designer.
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Marcelo Burlon is never one to go quietly either, and the designer sound-tracked his County of Milan show from a turntable on the side of the performance space. Footwear involved a collaboration with Timberland boots that were often styled with color-pop shoe laces and featured Timberland logo tags just in case anyone didn’t get the message.
At Les Hommes, there was also a pumped up Nineties vibe at play in the shape of white high-tops with puffy Velcro fastenings – not dissimilar to another Nineties stalwart that’s back with a vengeance. (We’re talking the Fila Disrupter II, of course.)
However, the ultimate in shouty shoes came courtesy of Versace and rapper 2 Chainz. The duo collaborated on a line of suitably chunky kicks emblazoned in a glorious mash up of fabrics from the ready-to-wear collection. As for the soles, these were molded to resemble the links of a chain – a visual nod to the musician’s Chain Reaction logo.
