Within the late Nineteen Eighties, Susan Conlin, then in her twenties working as a financial institution auditor in Philadelphia, was certainly one of many profession girls carrying skirt fits, coiffed hair, and excessive heels to work. At this time, a librarian in New Jersey, Conlin’s footwear can nonetheless be heard clacking on the marble flooring — however she’s develop into an anomaly. In a employees of 30, she’s the one one nonetheless in heels.
“We used to have informal Fridays however now every little thing is informal. Carrying excessive heels simply makes all of it really feel particular,” stated Conlin, now 61. She nonetheless wears heels in every single place, from grocery buying to the mall. “I’m certain in some unspecified time in the future a day will come when I’ve to put on sturdy, smart footwear, however they must pry [the heels] from my chilly, lifeless arms.”
Devotion like Conlin’s is more and more uncommon. As soon as immortalised in TV reveals and movies like “Intercourse and the Metropolis” and “The Satan Wears Prada” because the go-to for glamorous girls striding confidently via metropolis streets, for right now’s on a regular basis shopper, the excessive heel is a logo of a bygone period, out of step with comfort-driven footwear developments.
However quite than disappearing fully, the heel class is shifting. The basic stiletto is on the decline — gross sales dropped 12 p.c in 2024 in comparison with the earlier 12 months, based on knowledge from retail analytics agency Edited — giving option to a broader vary of heel sorts, similar to kitten heels, wedges, and block heels. On the identical time, flat footwear like ballet flats, loafers and boots could also be capturing an growing share of the market. Manufacturers are adjusting accordingly — even these which are synonymous with heels, like Christian Louboutin, which elevated its ballet flat assortment by 38 p.c final 12 months.
To efficiently cater to shoppers’ evolving footwear preferences, manufacturers ought to deal with creating a variety of kinds that provide a recent tackle what femininity means in right now’s market.
“That picture of the height of femininity being a lady in tremendous excessive heels, it isn’t there anymore. It doesn’t resonate,” stated Katharine Carter, vogue and retail analyst at Edited. “Extra inventive sneaker silhouettes or designer flats is usually a standing image as properly, equally as a lot because the heel was.”
The Excessive Heel Falls Flat
The heel’s decline has been years within the making: The rise of streetwear and sneaker tradition within the 2010s was a significant factor, with girls gravitating in direction of comfier footwear for on a regular basis, saving their heeled footwear for work. After which the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the shift, ushering within the work-from-home growth, rendering the model all however out of date apart from particular events. (Gross sales of excessive heels fell a whopping 65 p.c within the second quarter of 2020, based on market analysis agency Circana.) Whilst employees return to the workplace post-pandemic, they’re coming again to workplaces which have relaxed their gown codes even additional.
Manufacturers that financial institution on heels have felt the influence of those modifications firsthand: In 2024, Sarah Jessica Parker’s namesake line, which supplied stilettos, wedges and block heels had capitalised on her “Intercourse and the Metropolis” character’s love of heels, closed.
Adjustments in fashionable denim silhouettes have additionally contributed to the decline of stilettos. Whereas skinny denims and tall heels had been a development within the 2010s, the present baggier denim kinds pair higher with pointed kitten heels. Slimmer footwear like Adidas’ Samba or Birkenstock’s clogs are additionally favoured by those that put on baggier bottoms, the rise of which have satisfied shoppers that they don’t have to put on stilettos to be able to look modern.
“You all the time need some stress. You don’t need polish throughout your outfit, after which you may have a elegant shoe. It’s simply too one dimensional,” stated Heather Archibald, chief merchandising and product officer at Rothy’s. “Prospects are loving this stress of an unpleasant shoe — it may very well be a clog or a sneaker or one thing simply snug and sudden — with a extra polished outfit. That’s additionally persevering with to drive this flats development.”
Towering Above the Relaxation
The heel, nevertheless, hasn’t died fully, however as a substitute goes via one thing of a renaissance. “Sneaker tradition hit this facet of the footwear market onerous however even that has seen a decline,” stated Christina Ciglar, inventive director of retail at Steve Madden.” Nike isn’t doing drops anymore, the Jordans and Yeezys aren’t as coveted. Individuals will nonetheless want a dressier shoe.”
Labels providing a brand new narrative that reclaims “girlhood” quite than specializing in the male-gaze-driven stiletto are succeeding within the heel section, based on Edited’s Carter. Types from Miu Miu, Simone Rocha and Sandy Liang, similar to a ballet pointe shoe-inspired heel or slingbacks with bow-ties, are performing properly. Chemena Kamali’s Chloé has additionally performed a key function in drawing individuals again to elevated footwear, with its wedges and bohemian aesthetic.
“Manufacturers that craft a powerful narrative round femininity and openness — whether or not promoting sneakers alongside heels — are those that can resonate with buyers,” stated Carter. “It’s not nearly going to sports activities manufacturers for sneakers; or Manolo for heels. These kinds at the moment are ubiquitous throughout all manufacturers.”
For extra mass-market labels like Rothy’s and Steve Madden, holding their prospects within the fold requires being nimble sufficient to adapt as their tastes change, providing each informal and formal choices. Steve Madden has invested in increasing its assortment of kitten heels, platform heels and Mary Jane kinds, based on Ciglar.
Rothy’s, in the meantime, is iterating on its signature Level flat, which it now gives six variations of — one with a floral motifs, one other with gold {hardware}, as an example. It’s additionally capitalising on the resurgence of ballet flats and Mary Janes, having opened 9 brick-and-mortar shops within the US final 12 months, bringing their complete fleet to 26.
Nonetheless, in an acknowledgment of the heel’s enduring (however evolving) place in girls’s wardrobes, the model launched a Mary Jane block heel earlier this 12 months to cater to shoppers in search of formal choices for events like weddings and vacation events. The model has been the model’s high vendor each week, stated Archibald.
“Quite a lot of [embellishments] that used to stay on heels don’t have to anymore,” Archibald added. “There’s additionally this feature of mimicking what used to stay on a heel and doing it as a flat.”
