Shoes
Shoes
Bottega Veneta Shoes and Bags
Bottega Veneta was started in 1966 in Vicenza by Michele Taddei and Renzo Zengiaro, two leathermakers who decided the House would never need a logo. The specific thing they built instead was intrecciato, the woven leather technique introduced in 1975 that turned a manufacturing workaround into the label's entire visual language.
Prada Shoes
Mario Prada and his brother Martino opened a leather goods shop called Fratelli Prada in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in 1913, selling imported English trunks and travel accessories to the city's elite. His granddaughter Miuccia Prada took over in 1978 and, working with Patrizio Bertelli, turned a nylon backpack into the idea that a utilitarian material could sit at the center of a luxury house.
Khaite Shoes, Bags and Accessories: Leather Pumps and Sandals
Catherine Holstein launched Khaite in New York in 2016 with backing from Adam Pritzker's Assembled Brands, after a first eponymous label she started as a Parsons student closed in the 2008 financial crisis and a five-year run designing for Gap, Vera Wang and The Elder Statesman taught her the parts of the business she'd missed the first time. The label opened on denim and cashmere knitwear before adding runway shows in 2019 and an in-house bags and footwear line the same season, and Holstein still designs under a name modeled on the Greek word for long, flowing hair.
Christen Classic Shoes: Sandals and Boots by Nina Christen
Christen classic shoes come from Nina Christen, who shaped footwear at Bottega Veneta, Loewe, Celine and The Row before launching in 2024. I go through the sandals, boots and shoes.
Birkenstock 1774 Shoes
The Trending Collection and a New Wave for the Brand
Bloumme Sandals: Two Recycled Thong Sandals, Pilar and Arc 40
Bloumme sandals come down to two recycled thong sandals, the flat Pilar and the Arc 40. I explain why a narrow summer edit built around one clear shape works.
Ann Demeulemeester Shoes
Ann Demeulemeester builds a dark romantic wardrobe from elongated lines, leather, asymmetry and the tension between softness and severity. Founded in Antwerp in 1985 by Ann Demeulemeester and Patrick Robyn, the house grew alongside the Antwerp Six and a deep conversation with poetry, music and visual art. The collection is for dressing with intention, not disappearing into the background.
Jamie Haller: Leather Pumps, Loafers and Denim From Los Angeles
Jamie Haller launched her namesake label in Los Angeles in 2020 after more than two decades in fashion. She began with shoes, working with an Italian atelier on soft, glove-like slippers and loafers, then expanded into denim and everyday clothing. The useful thread is the same throughout: understated pieces with a clear point of view.
Jennifer Chamandi Shoes: Heels Built on the Eye of a Needle
Jennifer Chamandi left banking to launch her London shoe label in 2016, building every heel around one idea: the eye of a needle. Notes on the designer behind these boots, pumps and sandals, and how much attention you really want at your feet.
Herbert Levine Shoes
Explore Herbert Levine boots, pumps, and mules, where sculptural heels, pointed toes, and playful details give polished outfits a sharper point of view.
Jude Shoes: Leather Ankle Boots, Knee Boots and Pumps
Jude shoes bring sculptural polish to everyday dressing, from confident boots and pumps to clean-lined sandals made for a considered wardrobe.
K Jacques St Tropez Sandals: Leather and Nubuck Thong Styles
K Jacques St Tropez sandals bring the Saint-Tropez original into focus, with pared-back shapes made for long summer days. The sandal is the subject rather than a decorative detour, so a clean arrangement of straps has to hold the foot, sit securely, and leave the outfit room to breathe. This edit follows that directness through the range's straps, finishes, and prints.
NEOUS Shoes: Sharp Heels and Textured Bags From London
NEOUS shoes and bags are made for people who like a little architecture in their wardrobe, from a London label founded in 2017. I go through the textured shoulder bags and the sharp shoes Vanissa Antonious designs.
Nike
Nike started in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports, a running shoe import business built on a handshake between a track coach and his former runner, and that testing habit still shapes the shoes. I picked sneakers from archival shapes to Jordan silhouettes, plus a smaller run of training layers built for actual movement.
Le Monde Béryl Shoes
Le Monde Béryl makes shoes for the long way around, with ballet flats, Mary Janes, mules and boots that treat comfort as a design problem rather than a compromise. Founded in 2016 by Lily Atherton Hanbury and Katya Shyfrin, the London label began with the Venetian gondolier slipper as its point of departure. Each pair is hand-finished in Italy, with the kind of detail that reads better in motion than in a product shot.
Legres Boots: London Label Made in Italy by Anonymous Founders
Legres launched in London in 2019 from three co-founders who chose to stay anonymous, letting the boots, made in Italy over a year of development, do the talking instead. This edit lines up the current range of Chelsea boots, ankle boots and loafers so the differences in shape and material are easy to compare.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh Shoes
Maryam Nassir Zadeh opened her Lower East Side store in 2008 and launched her in-house clothing and shoe collection in 2012. Her background in textiles and styling shows up in pieces that make a complete look without looking overworked. The line’s downtown ease is less about minimalism than knowing exactly where to stop.
Alexander McQueen Sneakers
The chunky sneaker had a very loud decade and is now being quietly reassessed. Alexander McQueen sneakers are the most recognisable object from that period, built on an oversized rubber sole and a plain leather upper. This edit takes the oversized models first and then the lower profile ones.
Manolo Blahnik Shoes: Suede Ankle Boots and Sandals
Manolo Blahnik treats a shoe as a small piece of theatre, with the line of the heel and the shape of the toe doing the speaking. He founded his eponymous label in Chelsea in 1970 after Diana Vreeland urged him to make shoes, then made his first major runway collection for Ossie Clark in 1971. The collection still carries that sense of movement, from sharp pumps to sandals that seem to know exactly where the evening is going.
Stuart Weitzman Shoes
Stuart Weitzman has spent decades making shoes that treat engineering as part of the glamour. Founded in 1986, the New York label pairs its design language with artisanal production in Elda, Spain. The result is a wardrobe of sharp silhouettes, stretch-aware boots and polished shoes that understand the practical business of being worn.
Simone Rocha: Bows, Pearls and Lace With a Dark Edge
Simone Rocha builds romance with a little darkness at the edges, using bows, pearls, lace and athletic references to keep prettiness from becoming predictable. Born in Dublin, Rocha launched her label after graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2010 and quickly made London Fashion Week her stage. The collection moves between dresses, sculptural separates and accessories with the same instinct for contrast.
Tod's Shoes and Bags: Gommino, Ankle Boots and Handheld Styles
Tod's traces to a family shoemaking workshop Filippo Della Valle ran in Italy's Marche region, expanded by his grandson Diego Della Valle, who introduced the pebbled-sole Gommino loafer in 1979. This edit moves from boots through structured and slouchy bags to the Gommino family that made the brand's name.
Marni Slippers Are The Sabot With An Art School Degree
Marni's sabot slippers are showing up now because bold color and sculptural footwear have become a stand-in for personality in a market full of quiet basics. This edit sorts our picks ranging from the vivid Fussbett styles to the more restrained leather buckle pairs.
Rick Owens Rose: Sneakers and Boots in Rose and Milk
Rick Owens rose sneakers and boots are a real departure for a house not usually associated with pink. I go through the Mega Bumper Lunar boots, the Low and Vintage Sneaks and the tops to wear underneath.