After a long summer of flip-flops, the autumn eventually demands we put the toes away and embrace a more practical, weatherproof approach to footwear. At we’re circling back to fashion’s hyperfixation with the world of dance, which appears to grow stronger year on year. Take ballet flats, for example: the unassuming style was the cornerstone of the 2010s It-girl wardrobe, beloved by the likes of Alexa Chung and Kate Moss in their Indie Sleaze heyday. More than a decade on, the style is every bit as relevant, with French It-girl brand Repetto leading the charge and finding new-gen fans in Lily-Rose Depp, Kaia Gerber and Olivia Rodrigo.
Then there’s its similarly agile lace-up counterpart, the jazz shoe. Long before the brand’s ballet flats were a staple of Chung’s Ring doorbell photo shoots, Repetto had a more unlikely champion in the shape of Serge Gainsbourg. In the ’70s, the Frenchman swore by the brand’s Zizi style, a soft jazz shoe named after dancer Zizi Jeanmaire, daughter-in-law of brand founder Rose Repetto. Now the lace-ups – sort of the half way point between a ballet flat and a slimline sneaker – have won the hearts of contemporary fashion fans.
Serge Gainsbourg.
Sergio Gaudenti/Sygma via Getty Images
More practical than ballet flats (which often have the structural integrity of a piece of paper), but a less predictable choice than a loafer, the slim lace-up style is made for actual walking. Whether you channel Gainsbourg’s brooding style or simply want to add a faintly French flourish to your autumn wardrobe, the all-singing, all-dancing shoe is ready for its return to centre stage.
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