Loewe Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Kuba Dabrowski for WWD
Brogues and oxfords, versatile in their design, have been a fashion staple since the 1920s. Ranging from classic to jazzy, from pancake flat to vertiginous, they offer a myriad of styles to inspire your creativity. Some are platformed, providing a lift without the need for a traditional high heel.
Thom Browne Multicolored Knit Brogues, $553, mytheresa.com
An oxford can be a brogue, and many brogues can be oxfords. The only difference between the two is in the design. Oxfords must have closed laces and prioritize a clean, unadorned look. Brogues feature decorative perforations.
Bally Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Launchmetrics Spotlight for The Impression
Regardless of the name, brogues and oxfords are authentic, timeless classics. Their sporty, unisex, and androgynous appeal resonates with the fashion of today, making them a part of our fashion history. This is why we see so many iterations on recent runways, connecting us to the past and the present.
“Jonathan Anderson ranks as one of a handful of talents in fashion who could be considered a “designer’s designer” for the way he wakes up, changes, and challenges the eye with his exacting silhouettes, far-flung cultural references, and exciting concepts.” Miles Socha, WWD
Loewe Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo Isadore Montag for Gorunway.com
Jonathan Anderson’s whimsical, highly conceptual 57-piece spring 2025 collection for Loewe is an exercise in radical reduction. The only shoes Jonathan used on the runway were high-top sneakers, flat loafers, and oxfords with elongated pointy toes.
Loewe Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo Isadore Montag for Gorunway.com
You might not expect to see a traditional man’s style lace-up shoe adding the finishing touch to hoop-skirted sequined minis and floral-printed chiffon dresses that seem to float in midair thanks to wired casing or sumptuous leather shirts and coats with hems splayed thanks to built-in wires. Still, it is precisely these counterintuitive pairings that add charm, drama, and allure to the Loewe collection.
For Spring Summer 2025, London-based Montreal designer Erdem Moralioglu draws inspiration from the rich history of early 20th-century fashion, channeling the lives of novelist Radclyffe Hall (born Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall) and her sculptor companion, Una, Lady Troubridge.
Erdem Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Launchmetrics Spotlight for The Impression
There is always a dose of decadence in an Erdem collection. Moralioglu consistently undercuts the traditionally feminine appeal of his graceful and romantic designs with a distinctively mysterious and unpredictable eye. This standout collection beautifully balances the contrasting elements of masculine tailoring and delicate, feminine silhouettes.
Erdem Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Launchmetrics Spotlight for The Impression
Chunky flat brogues in black leather and silver metallic, some with exaggerated tassels, add a finishing touch to the slouchy Saville Row suits while providing an interesting counterpoint to the womanly, sumptuously colored 20s-inspired drop-waist tea dresses and elaborate floral gowns.
Marni’s creative director, Francesco Risso, appointed in 2016, celebrates individuality with graphic and unpredictable clothes that are classic yet playful. He believes in fashion as an opportunity for experimentation and self-expression.
Both photos Marni Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Giovanni Giannoni Courtesy of Marni
Risso’s coed spring 2025 collection, one of his best, plays with gender and speaks volumes about a whimsical approach to design. Rendered in humble cotton, it is sophisticated yet playful, eccentric, and appropriately non-conformist, down to the footwear, including a jaunty two-tone lace-up oxford for him and her.
Sean McGirr continues Alexander McQueen’s darkly romantic vision, historic references, and exploration of masculine and feminine polarities for his sophomore outing as creative director.
Alexander McQueen Birdee Brogue with collapsible heel in black leather, $1090, alexandermcqueen.com
For spring 2025, McGirr accessorizes many deftly tailored outfits with a heavy, platformed lace-up brogue, which you cannot readily see as the legs are shrouded in fog on the runway. A good-looking, easier-to-walk-in version that converts to a mule is currently available on the Alexander McQueen website.
“The iconic contradiction between masculine and feminine and classic and modern becomes a harmonious dialog between two aesthetically different worlds. Church’s X Miu Miu Double Monk Brogue shoes have an iconic design and finely crafted artisan finishes paired with Miu Miu’s rebellious soul to create an original look that encourages unconventional combinations untethered from the classic style.” Miumiu.com
Miuccia Prada wears the Miu Miu X Church’s Brushed Leather Double Monk Brogues, Photo by Stef Mitchell, March 2024 Vogue
Miuccia Prada is arguably one of the most revered and influential designers on the planet. Her signature look alternates between a classic heeled pump and a menswear-inspired brogue.
Variations on the classic iconic style, including a collaboration with esteemed footwear label Church’s, founded in 1873 by Thomas Church and his three sons, are a constant in Miuccia’s collections, which are always available online and in her stores.
Thom Browne Swarovski Satin Heeled Longwing Brogue, $2650,
Almost no designer is more associated with brogues than Thom Browne.
When Browne launched his eponymous collection in 2003, his first shoes were brogues. When Thom added women’s wear in 2013, he carried over the wingtips, often with vertiginous heels. Every Thom Browne collection is head-to-toe and includes whimsical, but not necessarily wearable, shoes to match his runway collections.
Junya Watanabe Fall 2005 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Yannis Viamos
It’s not unusual for members of the Japanese avant-garde (Rei Kawakubo, Yamamoto, Junya Watanabe) to accessorize their collections with just one shoe, sometimes a variation on a man’s lace-up oxford brogues. Junya Watanabe’s Spring 2010 collection is especially memorable, relevant, and modern.
Junya Watanabe Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Marcia Madeira
Junya Watanabe’s spring 2010 is especially memorable, relevant, and modern. It proves then and now, that in a season of sheerness and lingerie, athleisure, athletic wear (and everything else you can imagine), a woman in a perfectly tailored trouser suit will always stand out better when it is accessorized with a jaunty two-toned brogue – towering twisted headwraps optional.
The Office of Angela Scott Miss Mae Midheel, $625, theofficofangelascott.com
“The Office of Angela Scott” is known for its terrific oxfords and brogues. Their latest edition, Miss Mae Midheel, is made of high-shine black and white Italian patent leather and features a high-contrast toe, brogue perforations, and zig-zag pinking. No wonder it is dubbed “the tuxedo of shoes!”
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