2024 Was the Year of the Freaky Shoe

A surefire way to spice up any outfit is with an interesting footwear choice, be it a bright color or towering heel. Bold, incongruent footwear choices were all the rage with Allison Bornstein’s “Wrong Shoe Theory” of 2023. But this year it seems that we’ve surpassed “wrong” and landed on downright freaky.

Jennifer Lawrence and Kylie Jenner both rubber-stamped the non-shoe this year, Lawrence in a nude mesh sock-shoe from The Row and Jenner with a semi-sheer nude latex Couregès heel. Meanwhile, FKA twigs and Bella Hadid both challenged the laws of physics with their pioneering footwear choices: While promoting The Crow, twigs donned a pair of teetering Windowsen platforms with an an impossibly sharp heel, while Hadid wore a pair of stacked trompe l’œeil Jacquemus sandals to the Cannes Film Festival.

Animalistic shoes also had a moment in 2024. Not only did the Maison Margiela Tabis continue to prove their staying power, but Greta Gerwig brought a pair of split-tow heels to the Croisette. Elsewhere, Lana Del Rey hit the Met Gala carpet in a pair of Alexander McQueen hooves, dreamed up by Seán McGirr. And that’s to say nothing of the various slippers, boots, and—of course—Crocs that made it a year in fabulous footwear.

So, in the words of Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott: “Go, get your freak on.” Here, see some of the freakiest shoes of 2024.