Gabriela Hearst Nails the Sexy Flat Sneaker for Tod’s

“I went to the CFDAs, came home, went to bed, took my kids to parent-teacher meetings at 7:45 in the morning, went straight to work, and then came here. Right now, I’m standing, so that’s good.” Designer Gabriela Hearst was recounting the last 17 or so hours of her schedule from her immaculate dining room in the West Village, where she was hosting a lunch for a collaboration with Tod’s. Temporary shelving was in place to display the shoes: a part-sneaker, part-brogue with Morse code stitching that spelled “love” (20 percent of the proceeds will go to the charity Save the Children). Campaign images of Dakota Fanning, Lauren Hutton, Miroslava Duma and more were scattered on the large wooden table. Fortunately, Hearst designed the perfect shoe for her busy life – and the women that run in her circles. “When I look at the streets, everybody is wearing sneakers; I’m designing more tapered pants because of it. I just felt like women want to be comfortable when they’re running around and doing their thing,” she said. “A flat shoe seems appropriate.” To wit: she wore thigh-high snakeskin boots to the CFDA Awards, with no heel to speak of. “They were a little sexy,” she said, “but sexy and flat.”