Gucci’s Cruise ’25 Show in London: Ballet Flats, Horsebit Loafers But Not a Stiletto in Sight

Hikmat Mohammed
·2 min read
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At Sabato De Sarno’s Gucci it’s so far been about putting the best foot forward, literally and figuratively.

The Italian designer’s opening look of his debut show last September featured a pair of horsebit leather platform loafers. His sophomore women’s show opened with thigh-high leather boots and now for his cruise debut in London on Monday evening, the footwear in the opening look combined the shape of ballet pointe shoes with Gucci’s horsebit emblem.

Not a single stiletto heel in sight.

The other recurring shoe was a pair of chunky horsebit loafers worn with white socks with a strip of Gucci’s green and red hues.

gucci shoes
gucci shoes

All of the shoes in the collection were made for a walk in the concrete jungles — a touch of glamor in the way of suede and satin fabrications and triple straps.

According to Net-a-porter’s fall 2024 seasonal report, flat shoes are having an outsized impact. Net said it sold 8,500 pairs of ballet flats since January, 13 percent of which were Alaïa, which makes designs in mesh, perforated leather, or embellished with crystals.

“The resurgence of flat shoes is a testament to the casualization of fashion which we have seen over the past year. We’ve seen sales of flat shoes are up by nearly 20 percent versus last year, driven by those Alaïa ballet flats, which were definitely the ‘It’ shoe of the year in 2023 and are still reigning supreme,” said Libby Page, market director at Net-a-porter in January.

Other shoes selling out quickly on the retailer’s website are Chloé’s Rebecca Sandals and The Row’s variety of flats.



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