Vibram\u2019s FiveFingers<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now at a liberating place where more people can have fun with their shoes,\u201d says Dal Chodha, a\u00a0writer and lecturer at Central Saint Martins fashion school in London. He finds this trend \u201cthrilling\u201d, saying it \u201cforces someone to embrace the jolt of something that feels ugly or absurd\u201d. While previously these designs were confined to the catwalks, they are becoming more common on the streets.<\/p>\n
According to the fashion search platform Lyst, demand for cloven hoof-like Tabi<\/a> styles, designed to split the hallux (big toe) from the rest of the toes, has increased fourfold since 2022. Meanwhile, FiveFingers are up 57% year on year.<\/p>\n Shoes that were once reserved for taking out the bins or nipping round the corner for milk are now increasingly being worn to the office \u2013 and even weddings. Simone Rocha has created supersized Crocs<\/a> and smothered them in pearls and gemstones, while Etro<\/a> joins Dior and Valentino in reimagining Birkenstocks\u2019 \u201canti\u2011fashion\u201d cork footbed clogs.<\/p>\n Simone Rocha x Crocs Soho sandal in chai and \u2026\u2026 Simone Rocha x Crocs ballerina platform in espresso<\/p>\n This summer, the hype for a pair of\u00a0Gardanas<\/a>, \u00a338 earthworm-coloured French gardening clogs, led to lengthy waiting lists (and not only for the green\u2011fingered). Celine<\/a> sells a similar mossy-coloured pair for \u00a3670.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, on the high street everywhere from John Lewis to Zara is championing the \u201cFrankenshoe\u201d, such as sneakerinas, an amalgamation of a sneaker and a ballerina flat. These new cross-breeds include the snoafer<\/a>, a marriage between a sneaker and a penny loafer.<\/p>\n New Balance 1906 loafers in fairweather blue<\/p>\n Heels haven\u2019t completely disappeared, but they have been re-envisioned as deflated balloons<\/a> and even broken eggs. In American designer Tory Burch\u2019s latest lineup, she inverted the heel<\/a> itself, creating the illusion of a flat mule while simultaneously elevating the wearer. A stubby \u201cnipple heel\u201d measuring half an inch is now the sought-after height.<\/p>\n Loewe\u2019s deflated balloon shoe and \u2026\u2026 Tory Burch\u2019s pierced mule<\/p>\n Valerie Steele, chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and author of Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power, says society has a\u00a0long history of strange shoes. She points to medieval poulaines, a shoe with an elongated toe that showed the wearer\u2019s social ranking. Some were so long they had to be fastened to the knee to prevent tripping. Chopines, towering platform shoes worn by women from\u00a0the 15th century, were also used to denote status,\u00a0while in ancient Greece sex workers are reputed to have worn sandals with \u201cFollow me\u201d carved into the soles. Steele says today\u2019s purposely strange designs let\u00a0the wearer \u201cplay with elements of ugliness\u201d, allowing someone to make a fashion statement without committing to a\u00a0whole look. \u201cShoes are far away from your face, so you can experiment without looking ugly,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Chodha, who as a teenager wore Nike Air Rift trainers featuring a split-toe design, now favours a \u201cpotato\u201d shoe. As the name suggests, this style of footwear isn\u2019t dissimilar to a freshly dug maris piper. Even M&S has got behind the spud style. A \u00a345 bulbous, soft suede pair<\/a> has become one of its fastest-selling options for autumn.<\/p>\n M&S Suede toggle cord flat ballet pumps<\/p>\n For some, provocation is part of the appeal. \u201cAnyone who is resisting standard forms of beauty or propriety or practicality in their choice of footwear is in some way embracing a punk spirit,\u201d Chodha says. They also offer an opportunity to \u201cchallenge what and why we think something is ugly\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWhen politically there is a\u00a0big\u00a0right swing, you have a lot of people that through their clothing want to say, \u2018I\u2019m not that\u2019<\/p>\n Barbara Janeczek, curator manager at Lyst, says designs are becoming more extreme as \u201cfashion has an incredible ability to normalise the previously unwearable\u201d. She describes today\u2019s iterations as \u201cexposing, dividing or framing the foot in ways we\u2019re not used to seeing\u201d.<\/p>\n Tiffany Hsu, chief buying and group fashion venture officer at the luxury e-tailer Mytheresa, prefers the term \u201ctalking point shoes\u201d rather than ugly, explaining that the style is \u201cdesigned to create a reaction and bring something unexpected to a look\u201d. Lars Byrresen Petersen, founder of a popular shoe meme account @\u00a0LarsLaLa<\/a>, favours the word \u201cextreme\u201d. Some of his most liked posts are where he has compared shoes to condoms<\/a> and mops.<\/p>\n The popularity of the trend can be pegged to the \u201cwrong shoe theory\u201d, a term coined by stylist Allison Bornstein in 2023. This styling trick involves purposely wearing an unexpected shoe (think a kitten heel with tracksuit bottoms, or flip-flops with tailored trousers) to make a look more interesting. Bornstein says<\/a> a shoe that is a little \u201coff\u201d works because \u201cit signals that there is some intention and choice, and therefore it gives your look personality\u201d.<\/p>\n Some view the trend as a backlash against the uniform pageantry of the Maga aesthetic. Republicans love a nude pointy-toe stiletto almost as much as the presenters of Fox News. \u201cWhen politically there is a\u00a0big\u00a0right swing, you have a lot of people that through their clothing want to say, \u2018I\u2019m not that,\u2019\u201d Steele says. A\u00a0freaky shoe can be like a \u201csecret masonic handshake\u201d, she adds.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Inside Saturday<\/p>\n The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The hoof-type Tabi shoe was first thrust into the spotlight in the 1980s, when Martin Margiela featured the subversive riff on a 15th-century Japanese sock design in his debut collection. Now the Tabi-ification extends to trainers, ballet flats and Mary Janes across various brands. Byrresen Petersen, who has been wearing the style \u201cevery day for the past 10 years\u201d, isn\u2019t thrilled about their new universal appeal. \u201cPeople who aren\u2019t familiar with the shoe\u2019s history are just wearing them for the shock value,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Maison Margiela\u2019s Tabi ballerina (left) and Tabi Mary-Janes (right). Composite: Guardian<\/p>\n While some freaky shoes conceal the foot, it\u2019s the toe\u2011bearing styles that are really captivating fashion. Similar to Hollywood\u2019s naked dressing trend, they offer a quick flash of foot or even a full-frontal view of each toe. It\u2019s a trend as divisive as Curtsy\u2019s toe separator inspired heels<\/a>\u2013 where each toe is embraced in its own\u00a0thong strap.<\/p>\n Steele says feet and shoes have long been fetishised, as the outline of a foot can be compared to a miniature version of the human body. Toes can be squeezed together to create \u201ccleavage\u201d, while the round curve of the heel is considered similar to the bum. Steele says it was once thought to be \u201cerotic\u201d to wear a slingback. \u201cYou were letting your \u2018butt\u2019 hang out!\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a trend growing against the backdrop of the mainstreaming of foot fetishes. The photo-sharing site Wikifeet, which ranks celebrities\u2019 feet for their beauty, gets nearly 20m views a month<\/a>. (Rihanna and Margot Robbie score five stars while Michelle Yeoh currently sits at a one.) Selling foot pics has become a lucrative side hustle for many, including the singer Lily Allen, who shares hers on OnlyFans, a subscription-based site most commonly featuring porn. Allen, who posts under the username FTSE500, has said<\/a> she makes more money\u00a0from #feetpics than she does from Spotify streaming. On social media, the phrase \u201cNo free feet pics\u201d plays into the idea, with users carefully cropping photos so their exposed toes aren\u2019t on display.<\/p>\n While \u201cpotato shoes\u201d are prevalent in menswear, toe-framing styles are less so. Saint Laurent<\/a> recently horrified viewers when it sent male models down the catwalk wearing transparent PVC Oxford brogues. When Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd wore them on the red carpet, they quickly became clouded with condensed perspiration. \u201cI asked myself, \u2018Why torture women with plastic shoes, but not men?\u2019\u201d Anthony Vaccarello, who helmed the brand at the time, remarked on the idea behind them.<\/p>\n double quotation markOnce everyone gets comfortable with the weird thing, you have to find something weirderSaint Laurent\u2019s see-through dress shoes. Photograph: Giovanni Giannoni\/WWD via Getty Images<\/p>\n Steele points out that masculinity has been historically associated with heavy boots: \u201cMen\u2019s fashion generally emphasises sexuality through tightness or padding, not so much through body exposure.\u201d Naked toes suggest vulnerability and, \u201cMen don\u2019t want to look vulnerable. They\u2019d rather look armoured.\u201d<\/p>\n Why are shoes getting so freaky right now? Chodha says that, like the miniskirt in the 60s, these styles are rebellious and liberating. They can be viewed as an extension of the writer Leandra Medine\u2019s \u201cman repeller dressing\u201d, where the wearer prioritises their own likes and comfort over the diktats of the traditional male gaze. Others view it as a rejection of millennial \u201cgirlboss\u201d culture, a movement that glamorised a\u00a0relentless work ethic associated with spike heels and polished looks, which is now considered toxic by gen Z.<\/p>\n Or could it be connected to the economic moment? A recent report warned that the UK was at risk of \u201ca\u00a0lost\u00a0generation\u201d<\/a>. From a lack of job opportunities to the housing crisis and increasing fears over the use of AI, many young people are deeply anxious about their future. As a result, some are embracing a\u00a0\u201csoft\u00a0life<\/a>\u201d, prioritising comfort and a focus beyond the 9-5. Grounding rather than grinding \u2013 a five-finger shoe that\u00a0connects the wearer with the soil beneath them fits\u00a0the moment. The writer Liana Satenstein has\u00a0described that particular shoe as \u201can orgasmic exhale for the foot<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Schiaparelli\u2019s Trompe l\u2019Oeil loafers<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a sort of jouissance to the walk young people walk,\u201d says Chodha. \u201cI don\u2019t think young people are marching or stomping, because, of course, they all feel so disengaged with the world.\u201d While their predecessors furiously click-clacked around in skyscraper heels, today\u2019s twentysomethings are more likely to be found padding around slowly with a matcha in hand. Chodha says that the heeled stomp \u201cfeels out of step with the time\u201d.<\/p>\n Chanel\u2019s \u2018shoeless shoe\u2019. Photograph: Marc Piasecki\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Where next? \u201cOnce everyone gets comfortable with the weird thing, you have to find something weirder,\u201d says Janeczek, who credits \u201cfashion\u2019s one-upmanship\u201d for playing a role in fuelling the trend for weird shoes. Chanel has offered a pilot run of what that might look like, challenging the very definition of what constitutes a shoe. Its \u201cshoeless shoe\u201d, first seen during its catwalk show in Biarritz in France in April and later worn by Margaret Qualley<\/a> to a London film premiere, features just a heel cap, bearing its double CC logo, leaving the bare foot to walk without any protection at all.<\/p>\n Flex those toes, the time has come to let them loose!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792940531_550_500.jpg\")
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