46 DEPARTURES STYLE
46 DEPARTURES STYLE FANCY FOOTWORK 95mm-tall Yes Darling mules by Aquazzura highest but the most sensuous, with a tiny flare or curvy backflick. Edgardo Osorio of Aquazzura, known for sexy, flattering styles, says designers are “giving women their travel and luxury fantasies in the form of shoes. If I add butterflies or lemons it suggests a holiday even when you can’t have one. Owning a pair raises the mood and as soon as restrictions are lifted, you’re IRL party and event-ready.” Across the spectrum, shoes have a new, maybe slightly frivolous, fun slant. Libby Page, senior market editor at Net-a-Porter, where shoe sales have grown threefold in the past year, says “Our customers are embracing the joys of dressing up, experimenting with optimistic, colourful pieces that evoke a sense of fun. Heels are back as part of this.” She cites Amina Muaddi’s “playful, modern, fairy-tale heels as go-to styles for customers with an urge for glamour, like the Holli Glass neon PVC slingback and the crystalembellished Rosie”. The very high, strappy party shoe in vivid colours or metallics is a major hit whatever the weather, from crystal or pearl trims at Blahnik, Jimmy Choo Amina Muaddi’s 95mm Begum sling The very high, strappy party shoe in vivid colours or metallics is a major hit whatever the weather and Roger Vivier to bright metallics at Gianvito Rossi, Aquazzura, Christian Louboutin and Jennifer Chamandi. If the plunge of a 100mm-plus heel terrifies you, Choo and Aquazzura have beaded platforms, and Osorio has been working on cosseting your soles and toes in memory foam. Very high is not the only heel game in town. Although Osorio believes “the boring office pump is dead” and doesn’t visualise a quick return to the workplace, many brands view the midi-heel (up to 85 millimetres) as a dark-horse success. Controversy about women being expected, and in some cases forced, to wear very high heels at work erupted before the pandemic and has fuelled growth in the modern midis which, he points out, “now has an interesting twist in shape or detail”. This can be the backs Roger Vivier plat fo rm booties with 120mm heel “rabbit ears” back detail on his bestselling Bow Tie that comes in flat, midi or high, or the refined edginess of Alexander McQueen’s toe-loop sandal with its slightly raised sole and fat rouleau straps, Valentino’s sleek Rockstud at Net-a-Porter or the threaded-through signature strap that helps to steady the slender heels at Jennifer Chamandi, who says “we have huge demand for the 85mm midi height and many bespoke clients are requesting their favourite 105mm styles in 85mm”. It can equally be a shape, from surprising block heels by stiletto king Christian Louboutin, where midi heels now account for over 30 per cent of global sales, through sandals at By Far and a slanted back on slingbacks at Aquazzura, to new takes on the once-mumsy kitten heel ALL IMAGES COURTESY THE COMPANIES AND DESIGNERS
By Far boots in Italian leather with 50mm heels beloved of Gherardo Felloni, designer at Roger Vivier, not least “because Mr Vivier was a master of them, but I have always been a big fan. Women work, they walk a lot – and elegantly so in a kitten heel. It’s a long-lasting trend but we have modernised it with graphic shapes and lots of colour.” The heeled boot is Page’s top autumn prediction. In a classic fashion volte-face, last year’s tractorsoled clumpie has been replaced by a huge variety, the leader – inspired by the return of the miniskirt – a thighhigh, skinny style with elegant heels that is the racehorse of the footwear world, at Gianvito Rossi, Jimmy Choo and Jennifer Chamandi. Straightleg monochrome boots are modern elegance made in leather, with a square toe and fine heel at Russell & Bromley or in bold stripes at Manolo Blahnik. You can party in boots, too: 1970s gold shimmer at Aquazzura or bright blue satin calf-length at Roger Vivier. The ankle boot is now a classic, but not in the hands of Gianvito Rossi, whose curvy, quilted red style would star at the smartest dinner, or the team at Alexander McQueen, whose bright-red Chelsea boot with a chunky high heel is tough yet sophisticated, or By Far’s blockheeled styles of graphic cool. Whatever your choice of heel, you will be spoilt for it with the season’s dazzling footwear. As Jennifer Chamandi says, “Heels have a strong psychological effect. When I was little, I wore my mum’s heels all the time and when I got older, I found I studied better in them; I felt I could achieve anything. It is not good to Manolo Blahnik Rosal sa ndals wear only flat shoes – you need to rotate heights to not put pressure on the same areas. Wearing heels can be good for your health.” So bring on the uplift, in every way. Velvet Jimmy Choo boots with a 90mm heel DEPARTURES Gianvito Rossi Ribbon D’Orsay slingbacks in golden plexi and sunset mirror leather 47
