After bags, shoes are the biggest driving force in fashion sales, and can have the ability to make or break a look or even a collection. When it comes to designing shoes for a collection, creative directors are thus tasked with finding a balance between the artistic and conceptual – in order to work holistically with the creative ambitions of the collection as a whole – and the accessible and commercially viable. Accessories can also form a telling gauge of where trends may be heading.
While ballet flats have been a major footwear anchor this year (and we did see them in a major way from Ferragamo and Simone Rocha), the pendulum seems to be swinging back the other way this season, with heels dominating the runways across many key shows, including the ultra quirky styles at Prada’s algorithm-defying outing and S. S. Daley’s exciting womenswear debut.
Other designers embraced the theme of athleticism that was brought on by the Paris Olympics, with Dior and Tory Burch recentering functional footwear as an anchor of energy, comfort, and dynamism.
Western wear is still a palpable undercurrent, and we saw nods to the iconic cowboy boot from Valentino, KNWLS, and Jil Sander.
Here are The Impression’s picks for the best shoes of the Spring 2025 runway season from Paris, Milan, London, and New York.
Miu Miu
Louis Vuitton
Chanel
Victoria Beckham
The Attico
Erdem