With countless designers and manufacturers based in Italy, Milan Fashion Week is always a shoe mecca. For the spring ’19 season, sandals prevailed over sneakers (a trend that continued from New York Fashion Week this month). Below, our pick of the top 10 shoes from Milan Fashion Week:
10. No. 21’s Simple Strappy Sandal
Alessandro Dell’Acqua showed a sleek and simplified collection, all the way down the toes, with slim, strappy sandals with minimal embellishments like delicate crystals.
9. Jil Sander Platform Thong
Creative directors Luke and Lucie Meier sent out a pair of Japanese geta-inspired thong sandals with wooden platforms — an exaggerated example of the flip-flop and thong trend that’s proliferated for spring ’19 so far.
8. Marni Strappy Mismatched Sandal
Most of the footwear that creative director Francesco Risso sent out consisted of simple slide sandals in layers of soft leather and soft two-tone ballet flats with pointy elf toes, but the best shoe of the show was a vacation-friendly mismatched kitten heel with a studded sole and lots of wraps and straps.
7. Giannico Satin Jeweled Sandal
Designer Nicolò Beretta was inspired by Milanese interior designers and added hardware touches like a square metal toe cap on the sole of a satin sandal as well as an oversized crystal resembling a citrine gemstone — elements that make the shoe feel like both a chic interior fixture and a piece of jewelry.
6. Fendi’s Mixed-Media Sandal
Amid the logo-heavy front row, there was also a lot happening with the footwear on the runway. This ankle strap sandal has cutouts, contrast stitching, mesh panels, cushioned heel pad, trompe l’oeil heel and a mini logo strap.
5. Giuseppe Zanotti Sandal With Crystal-Studded Heel
The Italian designer scaled back on his usually outrageous designs this season, but he kept the crystals on a pair of two-strap sandals with a slanted heel — a design he first did 24 years ago. “Crystals, diamonds — they’re in my blood,” the designer told FN at his presentation.
4. Attico Embossed Leather Pumps With Ankle Cuffs
Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio are the coolest girls in Milan, and their spring ’19 collection proved it once again. Their eclectic-chic collection included a pair of embossed pumps in emerald green that Tordini wore with the season’s new riding-pant-shaped denim, with the brand’s ankle cuffs styled over them.
3. Versace Printed Logo Sandal
Logomania continues, but the most interesting part of Versace’s block heel sandal is the graphic print, the complementary hosiery and the massive block heel attached.
2. Gianvito Rossi Convertible Chain Sandal
The designer created a series of flat sandals that allow wearers to take the metal (and crystal) embellishment details and wear them without the sole, like jewelry for the feet.
1. Prada Sock Sandal
Footwear is one of the many reasons fans obsess over Prada, and this season did not disappoint. Along with graphic Mary Janes with sculptural resin heels, Miuccia Prada included a flat knit sock sandal that reads as both water shoe and compression sock — and looks insanely comfortable.
