Remember when Jennifer Lawrence walked around NYC in completely nonfunctional Ozzy slippers from The Row? This year has been a wild one on the footwear front. From Ugg boots and Crocs—hangover shoes from lockdown—to Margiela ballet pumps, Nike x Martine Rose mule trainers, and Loewe’s “naked” shoes, the past 12 months have delivered a constant stream of talking-point shoe trends.
Here are the 12 most divisive shoe moments from 2022.
Ugg boots
Uggs of every kind—from slippers to boots—were a guilty pleasure of the fashion crowd. Celebrities, too, hopped on the Ugg wagon, prompting sales to fly.
MM6 Maison Margiela pointe ballet pumps
MM6 Maison Margiela took the ballet pump a step further at its spring-summer 2023 show, where satin slippers came with squared-off pointe toes, like those of an actual ballet shoe.
Ancuta Sarca fuzzy boots
Ancuta Sarca supplied the likes of Rihanna and Dua Lipa with fun-loving footwear this year—namely, her signature deadstock trainers and fuzzy booties.
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Nike Shox MR4 x Martine Rose
Martine Rose’s sporty Shox mules, made in collaboration with Nike, became a common sighting in 2022. The bubble heel and futuristic design made them immediately covetable.
Crocs
Love ’em or hate ’em, Crocs were deemed one of the hero shoe trends of the year—and perhaps even the decade.
Diesel jeans boots
Glenn Martens, creative director at Diesel, debuted jeans-boot hybrids at his autumn-winter 2022 show back in February. Practical? Debatable. Forward-thinking? Sure.
Knwls x Ugg pierced boots
Designers Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, the duo behind London-based brand Knwls, offered a punky alternative to classic chestnut Uggs for spring-summer 2023.
Loewe “naked shoes”
The most unusual shoe trend to emerge from the spring-summer 2023 shows? “Naked shoes” are, as the name suggests, transparent. Loewe presented the most extreme example: pumps made from clear material.
The Row’s scuba pumps
Jennifer Lawrence scored several unconventional-shoe moments this year, but the most unusual was The Row’s wafer-thin napa leather Ozzy slippers.
Miu Miu thong-toe booties
Forget flip-flops, Miu Miu suggests you try heeled thong-toe shoes or boots next summer.
Y/Project thigh-highs
Rihanna is the queen of bold footwear. Her best pair of 2022? Y/Project’s mega thigh-high boots. Only Rih could pull them off so effortlessly.
Chopova Lowena tinsel boots
Front-row guests at Chopova Lowena’s spring-summer 2023 show snapped away at the various tinsel boots that walked down the runway, which were the definition of festive.
