A few months ago, when we were all scrapping over the last fan in the big Tesco, flip-flops seemed to be the only acceptable form of footwear. But with the heat behind us, so too is the urge to dress purely for ease, and the spring/summer 2027 shows offered plenty to tempt us back into a proper pair of shoes.
Chief among them was the dagger: a sharp-toed stiletto with a mean streak, perfectly suited to the rich-bitch mood bubbling up this season. Just look at Demna’s Gucci models, strutting in bug-eyed sunglasses, slinky evening dresses and faux fur, with horsebit daggers underfoot. Elsewhere, Louis Vuitton sent out leather versions in white, black and burgundy, while Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent offered its usual ultra-sexy styles in patent. At Prada, pink satin pumps were paired with statement midi skirts and peekaboo bra tops, while Jonathan Anderson’s Dior offered spindly-heeled sandals with gold Dior lettering running down the arch of the foot.
Dior spring/summer 2027.
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There’s a whiff of the ’80s revival about all this, too – an era when wearing flats could make you a social pariah. As fashion features director Alice Newbold wrote of this season’s street-style set: “The shoe game has centred around a simple rule: razor sharp and vertiginously high wins. These spiky stilettos take us back to a lost era, when fashion editors would rather quit smoking than be caught wearing flats.” Contributing editor Osman Ahmed, meanwhile, sees something more relatable beneath all the bravado: “Everyone is feeling perceived,” she says. “So maybe it helps us just feel a bit more polished, and like we’re putting our best footwear forward, for want of a better word.” Whatever the reason behind it, at least next time we come to blows in a supermarket, we’ll have the shoes for it.