Key Footwear Trends From Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week remains the industry’s most rigorous filter for footwear direction. In a market increasingly shaped by algorithmic momentum and celebrity visibility, the Paris runway continues to operate as the primary site of design intent, where shoes are built to support silhouette, construction, and long term brand positioning, not short term attention.

What emerged this season was a clear reassertion of discipline. Paris favored structure over spectacle, form over novelty, and function aligned with design rather than trend theatrics. From sculptural sneakers to refined leather shoes and pared back flats, the unifying signal was purpose. Footwear was not used to decorate the collection, but to anchor it.

1. Sculptural & Maximalist Sneakers

Balenciaga

Balenciaga  continues to treat the sneaker as a three dimensional design object rather than athletic footwear. On the Paris runway, exaggerated soles, swollen proportions, and aggressive contours pushed the silhouette into bold, sculptural statements. These shoes are less about comfort or sport and more about visual dominance, anchoring oversized tailoring and reinforcing Balenciaga’s ongoing interrogation of scale, irony, and luxury excess.

2. Classic Leather Dress Shoes & Boots

Acne Studios

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Acne Studios used Paris Fashion Week to quietly reaffirm the power of classic leather footwear. Polished derbies and streamlined boots grounded fluid tailoring and minimalist silhouettes, emphasizing material quality and proportion over embellishment. The shoes acted as stabilizers, proof that modern fashion still relies on traditional craftsmanship to convey seriousness and longevity.

3. Minimalist Sandals & Strappy Designs

Chanel

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At Chanel, sandals and slingbacks were reduced to their most essential forms. Thin straps, restrained hardware, and precise construction complemented the house’s signature tweeds and couture textures without competing for attention. The result was footwear that felt deliberate and refined, supporting the look rather than styling it, highlighting Paris’s renewed preference for restraint.

4. Elevated Formal Footwear

Dior

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Dior’s runway leaned into formality as a modern statement. Classic pumps and dress shoes appeared with updated proportions and subtle detailing, reinforcing the idea that elegance itself is becoming directional again. Rather than reinventing the category, Dior refined it, using footwear to sharpen tailoring and signal authority through polish.

5. Rugged & Utility Inspired Boots

Rick Owens

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Rick Owens transformed utility boots into sculptural extensions of the body. Heavy soles, industrial materials, and exaggerated shafts gave the footwear a confrontational presence on the runway. These boots weren’t styled for practicality, they were symbolic, reinforcing Owens’ dystopian aesthetic and proving that function coded footwear can still operate at a conceptual, high fashion level.

6. Technical / Performance Lean Sneakers

Comme des Garçons Homme Plus

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Comme des Garçons Homme Plus blurred the boundary between sport and fashion through technical sneakers that felt intentional rather than casual. Performance elements, structured uppers, engineered soles, and athletic references were reframed within a fashion context. On the Paris runway, these shoes signaled that performance design is no longer about speed or sport alone, but about precision and modernity.

7. Ballet Inspired Flats & Almond Toes

Dries Van Noten

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Dries Van Noten introduced softness and restraint through ballet-influenced flats and almond toe silhouettes. Low profiles, gentle curves, and quiet materials created footwear that felt intimate and deliberate. Rather than leaning into nostalgia, the shoes reframed femininity as subtle and confident, an undercurrent that continues to gain traction across Paris runways.