manager_1 Classic 70s footwear replaces trainer for fashionable dancefloor divas. While trainers are still the shoe of choice for everyday wear, they’re becoming less fashionable as the party season approaches. These might be sneakers you may have worn before, if so, because they are a platform and a disco classic.
They are becoming more gender-neutral shoes and have been seen on stars such as Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo. Last week, Tom Daley wore platforms while on the red carpet.
Many new brands are emerging for the modern era. Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa both wear D’Accori, while Nodaleto is a favorite of fashion editors and Naked Wolfe was endorsed by Kourtney Kim Kardashian.
Terry de Havilland, the British brand founded in the 70s, has enjoyed a new spell of success – particularly after .Sarah-Jessica Parker wore the Lena Non-Stop Disco platform on the set of .Sex and the City follow-up And Just Like That. Josh Spurling, sales and marketing director, says that the platform heel is an important part of our brand. “The platform block heels, the Lena Non Stop Disco and Zia have been our bestsellers in the past year.”
River Island, Asos, and Kurt Geiger designs are very popular on the high street. Kurt Geiger’s chief creative officer Rebecca FarrarHockley says that “Platforms have never been bigger or better and will be key in spring/summer 2022.” Our Vegan Franky heels combine a block heel and platform with a satin upper in hot pink for added impact. These shoes are party shoes that pack a punch.
Naomi Pike, fashion writer, is a big platform fan. She says that platform shoes have a retro appeal that has “always kind of captured me.” Pike likes their stomp, which she compares to other “ladylike”, high heels. She says that they have a certain attitude. “I bring that attitude into other areas of my personal style.”
Platforms are the party shoe of 2021 because they combine retro appeal, attitude and – most importantly – comfort. Spurling says that platform shoes are able to have high heels while still being stable and comfortable.
They fit in both a return to disco style – as endorsed Lady Gaga by in the lead-up to .The House of Gucci – and Gen Z’s favorite, the Y2K era. In the noughties, Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Aniston wore platforms.
Platform shoes have been around for thousands of years. From 600 BC, statues of fashionable Greek women wore them. Vertiginous chopine – up to a metre high – were a status symbol for socialites in 15th-century Venice, while wooden koma geta were worn by prostitutes in Japan from the 17th century onwards.
In the 30s, platforms were a mainstream fashion trend. Roger Vivier and Salvatore Ferragamo were among the first to make the shoes. In the 1970s they returned, being worn by Sister Sledge and Bianca Jagger. Platforms were also genderless back then – Marc Bolan, George Clinton, and David Bowie wore them. 40 years later, you can expect to see trainers being retired after dark and platforms becoming the preferred choice on dancefloors and at parties. Spurling says, “If ever there were perfect shoes for dancing floors,” these are them.
