Top Footwear & Shoe Trends for 2024
Stepping into a new year requires shoes that can carry the weight of all your ambitions—fashion or otherwise. Footwear is essentially a second skin and no accessory completes an outfit quite as seamlessly as a sleek kitten heel, chunky loafer, or trendy sneaker does.
So how will you be filling your shoe rack come the new year? The 2024 trends are quite a varied lineup. For warmer days, thongs, new spins on sandals, and ultra-voluminous platforms are destined to be slipped on. On more sophisticated occasions, kitten heels and mules are paving the way, as are flats with dramatic toe boxes. All of this to say, you have plenty to choose from.
One of the common threads that weaves itself through a majority of these shoe trends is how much choice each provides. Most of these trends are wide-sweeping categories and designers from every corner of fashion spun the idea differently, making it so simple for folks of all fashion tastes to incorporate. We’ve analyzed the runways and put together a list of the 2024 footwear trends you’ll find yourself reaching for every time you’re headed out the door.
These 2024 Shoe Trends Elevate Your Footwear Collection
If you’ve run last year’s shoes into the ground, replace them with a pair (or seven) that are undeniably trendy.
Fresh Takes on Sandals
Designer flip-flops have come back full force in a myriad of ways. The polarizing thong sandal in particular will be working its magic to get back into closets. These aren’t the foam platforms you pad around in on vacation, but rather cleaner, sleeker styles. Burberry’s thong sandals offered up a piece of material covering the instep of the foot, giving it a little more coverage than run-of-the-mill flip-flops. Coperni and Chanel, on the other hand, took minimalist approaches, proving that this trend can be interpreted in any which way.
Classic fisherman and strappy sandal silhouettes are present in 2024, too, but many have unique shapes and cutouts that make them different from the expected. Whether that’s a smaller toe area, an exaggerated square toe box (another trend), a chunky sole, or a fresh way of crisscrossing the straps.
Versace and Loewe all had some variation of fisherman-style, strapped, or woven sandals in timeless silhouettes, whereas Miu Miu took a much more grounded approach, sending sandals down its runways that are more reminiscent of something you’d bring on a backpacking trip. Hèrmes opted for the same aesthetic, contrasting its super-tailored outfits and luxury handbags with earthier flat sandals that possessed a few straps.
Sky-High Platforms and Flatforms
More comfortable than a stiletto but nearly as high, platforms and flatforms are set to dominate 2024. Platform pumps surely are included in this trend, but they’re not the only option. Platform loafers, sandals, and boots were also predicted as seen on quite a few brands’ rosters.
This is another such example of a trend that really spans a multitude of different styles. Isabel Marant, Gucci, Giambattista Valli, and Simone Rocha each produced a unique rendition of platforms and flatforms, bringing back the ’70s reminiscent look without feeling retro in a kitschy sense. Junya Watanabe even had a goth approach to flatforms, creating black leather sandals with plenty of straps and metallic hardware. Rick Owens veered into similar territory with structural components around the calves and ankles of its boots that looked mildly post-apocalyptic.
Flats
Initially, we too were skeptical of what stylish options could possibly come in the form of a flat shoe and were quickly shown it’s doable. From ballet slippers to pointed-toe flats, this shoe trend is coming in strong, but it’s not the rounded, simple slip-ons you’re most familiar with.
Rather than the standard ballet flat that is similar to the traditional dance class attire, designers have upgraded the structure for this year to resemble the footwear more advanced dancers can wear. These have a structured toe box reminiscent of actual pointe shoes. Many have square and cylindrical toes, others are covered in mesh and see-through netting, which is a crossover from one of last year’s “it” shoes.
For inspiration, look to The Row, Loewe, Chanel, Marni, Versace, and Valentino. These brands brainstormed numerous styles of flats that are fair competition against your chicest heels.
Kitten Heels
No interest in teetering around in skyscraper stilettos? You can chill this year. Micro heels are in and we’re fully behind this trend that’s been revived from the ’50s. They can be worn as is, on top of hosiery, or stylishly tucked away beneath flared trousers or floor-skimming skirts. Without a towering four or five inches, these shoes are supremely comfortable but polished.
Valentino, Prada, and Gucci created modernized renditions of the micro heel, making them subtly nostalgic but perfectly wearable for this day and age and into the upcoming months of 2024. For something with a minuscule heel but in no way similar to the retro shoes of decades past, square-toe kitten heels also popped up as well. Fiorucci even added metallic buckles to its kitten heels.
Exaggerated Toe Boxes
Shoe trends often see changes in heel shapes and heights, but toe boxes also offer plenty of room for adaptation. This year, it really is more about the front of the shoe than what’s behind. A handful of toe shapes shimmied out from SS24 collections, but most were slightly exaggerated takes.
Pointed toes were one such example. Whether it was in the form of d’Orsay heels, slouchy pointed-toe boots, or point-toe pumps, they were all extended, overemphasized, or adorned with thicker edges or sharper points. While pointed toes seemed to take over, they weren’t the only silhouettes. Square toes were arguably even more prominent, which we’ll see in legions throughout the coming months. In flats, heels, boots, and sandals, the square toe will continue to reign (sorry again to round-toe fans).
Fashion houses took sides, with Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent, and Acne Studios opting for pointed, Jacquemus and Fiorucci selecting square, and Prada and Mugler doing a mix of both square and pointed. As far as drama outside of the realms of pointy or squarish, Balmain had models shuffling around in marshmallow-proportioned loafers.
Metallic, White, and Lace-Up Shoes
As far as colors, finishes, and details go, three features stood out in particular that are set to pop up all throughout 2024. It’s hard not to notice the sheer number of metallic and white shoes that emerged throughout fashion week. These particular colors and sheens pleasantly pop out from any colorful outfit but easily blend into more neutral ensembles. Lace-up and wraparound tie shoes appeared in high quantities, too.
Shoppers seeking out examples can turn to Alaïa’s ankle cuff pump heels made of silver and gold materials and a large percentage of Valentino’s spring and summer-ready shoes, which happened to be bright white. Simone Rocha also embraced metallic hues as well as white and cream-toned footwear options. Among Celine’s newest spring-summer collection, tall white boots cropped up, which have you covered for fall and winter. Coperni, too, did silver and white well, creating sleek, pared-down shoes that will win over any minimalist.
Burberry had white and cream-colored shoes strutting through the parted crowd and doubled down on trends with its lace-ups. Dries Van Noten also had its fair share of lace-up heels, micro heels, sneakers, and sandals.
Major Mules
Mules balance comfort with style better than most shoes. With no straps or backs cupping or restraining the heel, it’s easy to slip your feet in and out of this type of footwear. Most have some kind of heel too, at least one that’s taller than a flat—so anyone refusing to take part in the aforementioned ballet-inspired footwear can rely on these.
Truly, anything goes this year. If it’s a mule, it’s in. Just look at the long list of designers who incorporated this shoe style into their SS24 collections
Zimmermann created eye-catching mules with thicker sole edges and pointed toes with tiny squared ends. Bottega Veneta had wrapped, open-toe, and triangular cut-out vamps on its mules. Loewe showcased a few pairs of mules, too, which featured backs that looked intentionally pressed down by the heel of the wearer (who hasn’t done this to shoes before?). For something with height, look to Alexander McQueen, which had high stiletto-inspired mules.
Shoes are a defining factor when building any outfit. Although these are footwear trends for 2024, most of these styles make persuading arguments that’ll cement them as staples for many years after.
