By Rosa Stancil

With 2023 well underway, key trends are surfacing. Cargo pants, sheer fabric, maxi skirts, and big bags have been identified as some thus far. Though there is one trend that no one is talking about: funky footwear. 

From JW Anderson’s frog shoe to Loewe’s balloon shoe, the designer footwear category seems to be taking a fun and playful turn. Is this the new footwear trend? Or rather the rebellion of trends in the pursuit of creative expression. 

These shoes are kitsch, or overly eccentric, seemingly separate from mainstream trends. However, while this category may seem niche, celebrities have already begun sporting this new type of footwear aesthetic. For example, Emma Chamberlain wore the Loewe broken-egg shoe which features a heel constructed like a broken-egg with the yoke spilling out onto the floor. Another shoe that comes to mind is the Prada flame shoe, which was popular a few years back. Alia’s cabaret heel which shows off a gold metallic heel shaped as a woman’s legs also deserves honorable mention when it comes to this new footwear aesthetic. All of these shoes are unconventional and outlandish in some way. 

These shoes take on a sculptural and artistic aesthetic that seem to challenge the basic fashion trends we as consumers have become so accustomed to. We have been overstimulated with trends constantly being thrown our way, especially with the rise of fast fashion. Because of this, the pulse of consumers seems to be shifting back towards personal style and expression. In other words, trends seem to be canceling each other out, thus eliminating the ‘cool’ factor they once held. 

Is funky footwear the beginning of a new era of fashion focused on creative design and expression? Will consumers and designers finally stop being dictated by the next trend forecast and take creative risks? 

Although only time will tell the answer, and trends will certainly always have a place in the fashion world, funky footwear excites me.