Camila Mendes’s Infrared Shoes Are Quite The Statement
It’s rare that you’ll find some kind of common ground in the wardrobes of Kylie Jenner, Emma Stone, and Hailey Bieber. Over the past few weeks, however, the trio (as well as a handful of other fashion girls) have remained on the same stylistic page, causing us to question whether their common stylings are merely a coincidence or the signal of a wider trend to come. Well, on Tuesday, Camila Mendes likely proved the latter as she hit the streets of New York City in what’s shaping up to be the latest footwear mania: cherry red sling backs from Reformation.
Mendes, busy promoting her first post-Riverdale lead role in Upgraded, cut a chic figure in a chocolate brown trench coat and a knit turtleneck dress. As sleek as the base of her look turned out to be (very, dare we say, Quiet Luxury) Mendes’ fire hydrant-colored footwear choice was what really turned heads here. The actress matched a pair of bold tights with patent kitten heels (which just so happened to have, you guessed it, tiny little bows on the end).
Unlike other stars—such as Jenner, who paired her cherry shoes with a matching mini dress—Mendes finished off her look rather minimally with black sunglasses and silver hoop earrings.
You might be wondering, where exactly did this sudden surge of red shoes come from? Like any quality celebrity dressing trend, it began both on the stars themselves and within the recent collections of some of the biggest fashion labels.
The new Gucci designer, Sabato De Sarno, made the color a signature of his debut womenswear spring collection as well as his more recent menswear showing. Though, you could wager that De Sarno’s preferred shade of red is more malbec than cherry. Other designers who have also explored this phenomenon? Alaïa’s Pieter Mulier, JW Anderson, and even, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada over at Prada.
Of course, nowadays, the telltale sign of a fad’s staying power is the ways in which celebrities approach them. Yes, it’s nice to see things take off on the runways of Paris and Milan, but seeing them in action usually takes things over the edge.
Hailey Bieber and Emma Stone offered up a more pared-back take, styling The Row’s cult loafers with business casual looks. Kylie Jenner’s version was expectedly more on the louder end—she stepped out in all red for the Jacquemus show and slipped into a Mob Wife look complete with cherry slingbacks just a few days later. Anya Taylor-Joy also appeared to co-sign the color with various ready-to-wear moments. And now, with another adoptee in Mendes, it looks like neutral shoes just might be on their way out.
