Sure, 2013 just rolled in, but all the savvy fashionistas and industry pundits are making rounds at the biggest fashion weeks around the globe. The one in London just took place, with collections from Givenchy, McQueen, and Vivienne Westwood wowing audiences the world over. The collections also had a thing or two to say about the future of women’s shoes—and we were there to absorb it all and summarize it, for your convenience.
Sky-High Stilettos
A staple of eighties fashion, stilettos are one type of women shoes that we seemingly can’t get enough of. For the upcoming season, all the major designers decided to give them a well-deserved face lift. While the trademark pointed toe is still there, apt to raise a few brows from women who find them uncomfortable, that’s not all stilettos have to say in matters of comfort. Thought 7-inch heels were a bit extreme? Then buckle up for some stilettos with heels that would make your longest, thinnest, sharpest pencil weep in shame. And ‘buckle-up’ is not a phrase we use arbitrarily, for these babies will be seeing lots of trimmings, spikes, bows, and buckles in 2013 fall/winter trends.
Velvet Shoes
Velvet shoes are actually part of the classic dress-code for men’s attire on black-tie event nights. However, we haven’t seen too many of these opera slippers, as they are formally known, in recent times. We did see them on the 2013 fall/winter runways, both as flats as well as heels. And, might we say, they look like a hugely comfortable option for early fall-wear.
Bye-Bye, Platforms
The platform first hit us in the seventies, the time of disco-era madness, when bodysuits and sequins were all the rage. When disco was officially buried, come the late eighties, the entire world assumed this would mark the end of the uncomfortable, heavy shoe. Not quite, said the Spice Girls and an entire cohort of other girl pop bands in the mid-nineties. After that bout of sartorial hysteria was over and done with, platform shoes, sandals, and boots made their way back into our shoe closets in 2011. However, it seems that they’re finally being put to rest next season, in favor of the more subdued chunky heel.
More Ankle Booties, Please!
Ankle boots are also a trend born in the eighties, although their origins can be traced far back in the history of fashion. Yes, they were in style during the interwar era, but think as far back as Elizabethan England to identify where they came from. And it looks they’re here to stay for at least one another season. For fall/winter 2013, ankle booties get versatile and veer a little toward biker boots, full of spikes and buckles, as well as heels of various lengths and styles.
Funky Ballerinas
Remember back in the late 2000s, when ballerina flats first exploded onto the scene, after decades of high-heeled shoe supremacy. A couple of seasons later, everyone had had quite enough of them, yet this versatile, comfy little shoe decided it had more staying power than anyone had ever presumed. Next season, expect these unassuming items of footwear to get bolder and braver than ever before, in loud colors and funky patterns.
