New York Fashion Week has come to a close, bringing with it one piece of the puzzle of what spring ’24 fashion will look like next year.

While NYFW is not usually a footwear-heavy location on the fashion circuit (save that for Milan, land of shoes), this time around saw the return of some footwear designers — namely Paul Andrew, who staged his presentation at Rockefeller Center’s skating rink with a well edited collection that included a range of styles and heel heights, a little something for everyone.

On the runways, most footwear-focused designers made very clear declarations on the shoes that will dominate next year (ballet flats are back; that pointy-toed pump trend from fall ’23 might not stick). At Proenza Schouler, Tory Burch, 3.1 Phillip Lim and more, comfortable flats were the priority, while others focused on the ubiquitous but often more elusive perfect sandal.

And NYFW’s tradition of footwear collaborations saw a very strong season in spring ’24, with everyone from Manolo Blahnik to Ugg jumping in to help designers create the best runway moments, head to toe.

Here, a rundown of the top 10 shoes of New York Fashion Week’s spring ’24 season.

1. Proenza Schouler’s big-toe sandals

Get ready for some viral shoe comebacks next spring. Both the big toe and thong sandals have had their buzzy moments, dating back to 2019. But leave it to Proenza Schouler to bring back both on the spring ’24 and make them look simultaneously chic and weird in that viral way (thanks to material detailing that resembles twisted tissues or toilet paper. The brand’s simple big toed sandal was worn with sheer black hosiery, creating a confounding but alluring style message. There’s always a new way to wear something.

2. Tory Burch’s ballet-sandal hybrids

Tory Burch is queen of both the sandal and the ballet flat, and for spring ’24 she combined the two, slashing uppers on a diagonal, adding a mini wedge and continuing to play with cool hardware elements that have shown up in the past few collections. It was just one of her curious footwear concoctions for the season.

3. Paul Andrew’s textured ballerinas

The moment for the ballet flat is finally here. But in order for the shoe to actually resonate with the fashion crowd, it will take some innovation and verve. Paul Andrew offered both classic neutrals and some zhuzh for the spring ’24 ballerina; the latter of which included a fuzzy textured style complete with a patent leather buckle for the strap. It may not have a heel, but this is definitely a party shoe.

4. Ancuta Sarca x Dion Lee buckled sandals

Before hitting London Fashion Week for her own presentation, up-and-coming footwear designer Ancuta Sarca teamed up with Dion Lee for a series of buckle-heavy silhouettes. True to her upcycling DNA, Sarca used deadstock garments, fabrics and signature utility buckles for the heeled styles. A simple sandal in black leather with a pointed toe and silver buckle details perfectly encapsulates both designers and will certainly give some edge to a spring look.

5. Manolo Blahnik’s chic mules for Altuzarra

The legendary designer has a long tradition of making shoes for NYFW runway designers and this season he collaborated with designer Joseph Altuzarra — surprisingly, for the first time, given their converging aesthetics and shared penchant for cinematic references (Altuzarra cited “Rosemary’s Baby” this time around). Blahnik’s ladylike satin-covered mules with elongated toe boxes were the perfect fit for Altuzarra’s ultra-feminine collection of caped coats and organza pencil skirts and slip dresses.

6. 3.1 Phillip Lim’s homage to the Chinese slipper

In his first runway show since 2019, Phillip Lim returned to NYFW paying homage to both his city and heritage. Showing in Chinatown, Lim sent a parade of sheer mesh ballet flats down the runway with his simple but feminine ready-to-wear collection. It was a nod to the Chinese slipper — “a testament to the many that made this space for us possible,” he noted. A lilac version of the flat, done in mesh with patent leather, is a sweet, simple shoe for the season with an equally thoughtful backstory behind it.

3.1 Phillip Lim’s mesh ballet flat, an ode to the Chinese slipper, shown on the runway for spring ’24 at NYFW. COURTESY OF 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

7. Gabriela Hearst’s perfect satin pumps

To be clear, spring ’24 is not the season of the classic pump. Despite it’s dominance of the shoe market for the current fall ’23 season, new collections seemed intent on avoiding the notoriously uncomfortable silhouette. But if there was anyone who could offer a beautiful pump worth the effort, it’s Gabriela Hearst. While the designer tends to prefer sandals (particularly sturdy flatforms) a pair of black satin pumps seen backstage at her spring ’24 runway show were perfectly proportioned: flexible satin-covered uppers, a toebox that was sleek but also more realistically shaped to real toes, a sturdy heel with subtle curvature and a hint of gold hardware. A new chapter of footwear may be upon Hearst, who will focus solely on her eponymous label after showing her final collection for Chloé later this month at Paris Fashion Week.

8. Larroudé x Jonathan Cohen textured sandals

In the designer’s post-pandemic return to the NYFW runways, Jonathan Cohen resumed his tradition of footwear collabs with a new one by Larroudé. The brand picked up many of the designer’s textures and prints used in the spring ’24 ready-to-wear, including a deadstock brocade, which was added to Larroudé’s bestselling Dolly platform sandal — which happens to be a shoe that Cohen had been using for fittings even prior to the collaboration.

9. Aknvas x Stuart Weitzman frilled pumps

This was the second season that Aknvas designer Christian Juul Nielsen has worked with the footwear heavyweight, and the pairing is proving to work well. This time around, origami (or maybe gift wrap?) inspired leather frills were added to simple pumps to give even more oomph to the designer’s Hans Christian Andersen-inspired spring ’24 ready-to-wear collection.

10. Ugg x Collina Strada spiked Mary Janes

Collina Strada loves a footwear collab, and this season she linked up with Ugg to create what are perhaps the most non-Ugg Uggs we’ve seen, at least in a while. Strada worked with the brand to create a lug-soled Mary Jane, which was outfitted with sizeable spikes, which were not an homage to punk rock but instead inspired by the spikes of a cactus.