Certain footwear trends dominated the trade show floor at Informa Markets Fashion’s Coterie and Magic New York shows this week.
Ballerina flats, platform sandals, Mary Janes and boots with Western influences were prominently featured across a variety of brands that convened at the Javits Center in New York City between Sept. 19 and 21 to show off their spring ’24 products to retailers.
“At Coterie, we’ve really seen the return of the ballet flat this season,” Kelly Helfman, president of Informa Markets Fashion, told FN. “There’s also the emergence of this new type of Mary Jane with a bit of heel. It’s very clean looking and harkens back to that quiet luxury trend that we saw take off earlier this year.”
“It was all about the high platform and now we’re going back to the flat,” VP of Magic Jordan Rudow added in an interview with FN. “We’re seeing a ton of ballerina flats, kitten heels and a lot of sling backs.”
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Here were 4 of the top footwear trends from the trade show floor.
Western Boots
While not quite as hot as they might have been in 2022, Western styles were still a prominent trend dominating the trade show floor.
“We have some spots of Western that are working for us,” said Nine West sales representative Maria Alleva, calling out the brand’s Wilton boot with a denim scrunch that has been a strong seller.
Even without a full-size cowboy boot, smaller Western stitching elements have also been popular trend at some brands. “Now we have some Western-inspired stuff that looks like a Western, but isn’t [fully] ‘Yeehaw, Cowboy,'” said Vicky Lee, head of marketing at Soda. This particular brand is also seeing success with modern cowboy styles that feature rhinestones and sparkles, which have been popular for concert and festival goers this year.
Carryover styles could also be seen at Coterie, with immediates available at Marc Fisher Footwear, and a new slew of cowboy-inspired styles for spring 2024 in a cream and neutral color palette at Dolce Vita. “We are shipping out cowboy styles later in Q4 since we’ve found that our customers are really wearing this style all year round,” Jenny Foy, VP of sales at Marc Fisher Footwear, said. “And the popularity really jumps around festival season, when these will still be on store shelves.”
Platform Sandals
Platform sandals were featured in a major way across several brands as well.
At Marc Fisher, executive Jen Foy told FN in a walkthrough that nearly every buyer that came into the booth at the show picked up one of the brand’s new platform sandal styles. The brand has leaned into the trend with many fabrications and colorways being offered for spring.
D’Amelio Footwear, the recently launched shoe venture from Dixie, Charli and the whole D’Amelio family made famous from TikTok, featured a variety of platform sandals in bright colors like neon yellow, hot pink and white.
Ballet Flats
Over the past few years, the ballet flat has popped up here and there in collections, both as a suggestion for a house shoe (remember those pandemic era needs?) and a rebuke of the chunky soled loafer and boot that’s dominated footwear trends for so long.
This summer, movement towards the shoe began to build. A mesh flat from The Row that went all the way back to its spring ’20 collections (one of the lost seasons) came back on the scene. It was joined by a fishnet ballet flat from Alaïa that has become one of the year’s biggest It shoes. Other brands followed, and the mesh ballet flat became something of the summer’s sleeper shoe trend.
From there, it has taken off with many collections showcasing the shoe at New York Fashion Week this month and trend originator Lanvin announcing last week that it is bringing back its much-loved ballerina flat.
The same could be said at Coterie and Magic New York. The shoe could be seen in a vast majority of booths, with footwear brands including Marc Fisher, Dolce Vita and more hoping to ride the trend wave as soon as it takes off.
Mary Janes
A notable cousin to the ballet flat, it’s no surprise that this shoe style is having a moment as well. The grown up version of its relative, the Mary Jane offers a bit more support than ballet flats, yet still carries that sought-after femininity.
These styles tend to be made in leather, often patent leather, and feature a wider single strap or T-strap closure. For the coming season, brands have considered a sometimes avant-garde take on the Mary Jane, but the classic option has staying power, thanks to its inherent practicality and versatility.
Look out for subtle updates to the Mary Jane this season, including the addition of a small but chunky heel for a bit of height.
