While New York has never been the shoe mecca that Milan is, or the luxury brand hub of Paris, over the years it has cultivated its own niche of mostly independent brands alongside the big name houses such as Tory Burch, Coach and Michael Kors.
For NYFW spring ’22, the return to live runway shows and presentations brought forth a curation of new names to discover, from ready-to-wear to accessories — footwear included.
The new crop of footwear brands in New York are bringing something unique to the table that helps them stand out apart from their beautiful designs, from being owned by designers of color to focusing on sustainable production to sourcing materials from all around the world.
Here, three brands that are changing New York’s designer footwear scene:
For the European brand Bevza’s spring 2022 collection, designer Svitlana Bevza, took inspiration from copying within the fashion industry by copying herself. According to the spring ’22 release, former collections’ core pieces were rethought and then tweaked in an ironic way and resulted in the new collection bringing out Bevza’s signature elegance, refinement and minimalism.
The collection had footwear styles including slides and kitten heels. Many of the shoes were created in black and white color ways to stay on pace with the minimalism theme of the full collection.
Footwear brand Nalebe’s spring ’22 collection focused on the essence of hope, transformation and rebirth after the pandemic. The collection, titled the Eureka collection, served as an ode to designer Amina Means’s childhood, where the harvest season in Nigeria came with a celebration of hard work and life. The collection features heels in bright, vibrant hues of pink, orange and blue and debuted at the Black in Fashion Council’s NYFW showcase at Spring Studios.
Mia Vesper’s spring ’22 collection brought bright colors and different patterns to life. The collection nodded to the inherent sustainability of intentional and treasurable garments. This line was also designer Mia Humber’s first time including jewelry, with multilayered glass and crystal necklaces.
The New York City-based brand designs and produces all of its products from new, vintage and dead-stock materials and has been worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Sofia Richie and Halsey.