The Top 10 Shoes of NYFW Spring 2022
With New York Fashion Week done and dusted, both industry insiders and consumers alike have a first look at what shoes — and shoe trends — will look like come next year. While the upcoming Milan Fashion Week will bring more of spring ’22’s definitive shoe trends, NYFW was a hint at how the rest of the month might shape up. From sexy silhouettes to a renewed focus on the feminine, high-heeled sandal, plus new collabs to boot, Here are the top ten shoes of New York Fashion Week’s spring ’22 season.
1. Peter Do
New York Fashion Week’s breakout star Peter Do may have shown his very first runway show this season, but the Phoebe Philo-trained designer already has a loyal footwear following, even among top retailers. For spring ’22, Do continued with his hardware-heavy, square-toed black leather boots, this time adding a platform boot with an angular front that is sure to be a hit — even in warmer weather.
2. Gabriela Hearst
The 2020 CFDA American Womenswear Designer of the Year and Chloé creative director kept adding new sustainable craftsmanship details to her eponymous line, including a partnership with Clergerie, using the French heritage brand’s use of sustainable cork and raffia to create a series of platform sandals — the Uruguayan designer’s longtime favorite footwear silhouette — to pair with her fringy knits, courtesy of nonprofit Manos del Uruguay.
3. Proenza Schouler
If Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough say the “ugly” sandal is sticking around for next spring — it’s a good bet that it will. While the Proenza Schouler co-creative directors have partnered with Birkenstock in the past on their version of the ubiquitous Arizona, this season they did their own sport-comfort sandal, infusing wavy architectural lines on strappy cutout sandals, mimicking some of the ready-to-wear silhouettes (and complimenting all the fringe) on the runway. The designers’ square toed loafers are a strong runner-up, but we’re sure these sandals will make waves next year.
4. Esquivel for An Only Child
For former Public School co-founder Maxwell Osborne’s debut of An Only Child, the designer tapped footwear maestro George Esquivel to create a series of mules, oxfords and penny loafers for the collection, which included both men’s and women’s looks. Esquivel updated some of his classic silhouettes for the occasion, including a women’s mule with a thin leather ankle wrap — in colors that matched the accompanying crew socks.
5. Tory Burch
Using women’s sportswear designer Claire McCardell as her inspiration, Burch approached her spring ’22 from an artist point of view, using a muted palette with unexpected color combinations and asymmetrical details here and there. The designer may be infamous for her ballet flat, but this time around she veered away from her logo and tapped the archives of Capezio for a series of reissues from the dance company’s own collaborations with McCardell in the 1950s. A pair of satin slippers in peridot green and black sum up the off-kilter-but-alluring collection.
6. Larroudé for Oscar de la Renta
With a stacked Met Gala roster — including one Billie Eilish in a Marilyn Monroe moment with a gargantuan tulle train — Oscar de la Renta co-creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia had enough on their plate during New York Fashion Week. To compliment their floral fantasy collection (captured in a fashion film in lieu of a runway show), Kim and Garcia outsourced shoe design to Marina Larroudé, who took the brand’s spring ’22 palette of florals and bright hues, translating it to her signature slides and platform sandals.
7. Brother Vellies for Sergio Hudson
Just before she unveiled Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s statement making gown on the Met Gala red carpet, designer and 15 Percent Pledge founder Aurora James teamed up with designer Sergio Hudson on a capsule of sexy, colorful heels to go along with his fall ’21 see-now, buy-now collection.
8. Jonathan Simkhai
The L.A. designer first launched footwear for his label in February 2020 for his fall ’20 collection, taking a pause when the pandemic halted production and supply chains. Simkhai returned to footwear for spring ’22 with a series of sandals that were both sporty, comfort driven and his signature sexy. One particular style features a big-toe loop, ankle wraps the mirror the collection’s many fringe details and cutouts that match some of Simkhai’s dresses for spring.
9. Nalebe
New York Fashion Week newcomer Amina Means debuted a spring ’22 collection high on impact, from brightly-hue, square-toe mesh sandals with monochrome chain accents to satin slides bejeweled on both the toes and the heels. The designer’s crystal bow pumps, which come in cobalt blue, orange and pink are destined to be a spring statement shoe — and the version shown here, in a metallic silver with clear upper, is a shoe-in (pun intended) for next year’s wedding boom.
10. Pascale Théard for Glemaud
Designer Victor Glemaud specializes in creating inventive knitwear. So when it came time to put on his first runway show since launching his brand 15 years ago, the designer tapped friend and fellow Haitian Pascale Théard to create golden t-strap sandals to accompany his summery, cut-out-friendly knitwear. The shoe and leather accessories artisan made all of the flat sandals by hand.
Source: Fashion
