After entire seasons dominated by the impeccable minimalism of quiet luxury, neutral palettes, and accessories designed to disappear rather than attract attention, the catwalks finally seem to have rediscovered the pleasure of excess, irony, and provocation. And if there is one accessory that most of all is embodying this collective desire for experimentation, it is the shoe. The latest collections have transformed footwear into narrative objects, almost autonomous creatures capable of altering the posture, stride and even the character of a look. In Schiaparelli’s FW26 collection, shoes that look like surrealist relics, with exaggerated volumes and metallic details that harken directly back to the maison’s theatrical imagery; they are not mere accessories, but scenic elements that transform the body into a living sculpture.
Jonathan Anderson’s Dior, in FW26, also abandons all bourgeois rigidity to explore hybrid silhouettes, between surrealist romanticism and forms inspired by nature. Matthieu Blazy for Chanel, reinvents the classic through deliberately disturbing proportions: light but theatrical platforms, elongated toes, and details that seem to come out of a retro wardrobe reinterpreted with contemporary irony. But above all, the gold thread sandals that leave the foot completely uncovered have caused discussion: an extreme that has made the rounds on social media and invites us to absolute freedom in our approach to style. In this panorama, the most explicit provocation probably comes from Dsquared2, where the FW26 exasperates the fetish and Y2K aesthetics with aggressive, very high, deliberately “too much” shoes, almost a manifesto against the discretion that has dominated the last few years. Prada, too, which has always been a master of transforming the ugly into the desirable, proposed edgy, destabilizing footwear that seems deliberately unfinished and that is precisely why it looks incredibly contemporary. However, the return to the statement accessory also passes through a new boho and decadent sensuality, evident in Chloé’s SS26, with almost primitive sandals in ethereal silhouettes, in a perfect contrast between romantic lightness and raw material. With Chemena Kamali, jelly shoes make a comeback.
Different but equally radical is the direction of Loewe, which for SS26 continues its reflection on the deformation of everyday objects: shoes seem like mutant organisms, suspended between contemporary art and industrial design. And then there are the more extreme visions, such as those of Matières Fécales, who bring disturbing and almost alien footwear to the runway, perfect representations of a fashion that no longer wants to be reassuring but emotional, shocking, even uncomfortable. Finally, Bottega Veneta, for FW26, shows how even the most sophisticated luxury is rediscovering the power of the eccentric accessory: inflated shapes, exaggerated soles and deliberately unnatural constructions tell of a new desire for play. Above all, uncompromising material and craft experimentation. After all, after years in which fashion celebrated subtraction and discretion, these shoes seem to want to remind us that dressing up can still be a theatrical, irrational, and deeply entertaining gesture.
[📷 dsquared2.com; schiaparelli.com; loewe.com; prada.com; chloe.com]
