This year, you’re just as likely to see the latest It Shoe on the sides of the Paris Fashion Week catwalks as you are in the bread aisle of your local Waitrose. Another Dad classic just got the high-fashion treatment: grungy boat shoes. While influencers and fashion editors are now swapping ballet flats for classic lace-up deck shoes, Gen Z is starting to dress like china-clad retirees from the Isle of Wight.
When it comes to trend setting, no one creates a viral product quite like Miuccia Prada. The Miu Miu label has been named the strongest brand of 2023 by Lyst, and this year it’s using that influence to usher in a sloppy, flashy kid aesthetic. Consider the coastal grandchild with a trust fund.
Models dressed as Emerald Fennell’s extras on the spring runway salt burn, baggy board shorts, polos layered over striped shirts, and college-specific navy blue blazers. An integral part of the Miu Miu chic capsule are brown suede deck shoes, £660; Thanks to deliberately faded patches, it looks exactly like the scruffy shoes you’ll find on porches across the country.
“I like that the current boat shoe revival is dismantling a quaintly middle-class shoe style that was long thought to be quite outdated,” says Julia Hobbs, British’s acting director of European fashion features. Vogue.” Gives new life to the track and makes fun of it so light.”
Inside Vogue In the article, Hobbs declared 2024 “the year of the boat shoe” and followed her own style advice, wearing these It flats with striped socks and miniskirts like a true prepper. “The Miu Miu deck shoe is very modern,” she explains how the brand puts its own spin on the Ivy League classic. Dupes ahoy – Mango is already on the case with a pair for £110.
A friend of mine, who earned the nickname “Boat Shoe Benny” for wearing them with suits to his office job, told me Timberlands are the best, thanks to their streamlined silhouette and wide color rendition. The Princess of Wales buys her deck shoes from American heritage brand Sebago, which is now cultivating a new Gen Z customer base similar to hiking brands like Tevas and North Face.
“Geographically, we are seeing a shift away from sales in coastal areas and towards major cities (particularly London and Manchester),” says Daniel Richmond, marketing manager for the Maine-based brand. “The average age is falling and our fastest growing segment is now 18-24 year olds, with the proportion of female customers increasing from 22 percent to 39 percent.” The Dockside Portland shoe has been the brand’s best-selling model since its launch in 1970, with sales of the shoe up an impressive 62 percent compared to the same period last year.
Hannah Lewis, fashion director at luxury personal shopping service Threads, reiterates that this is a trend that appeals to a younger customer. “For us, it is our Gen Z customers who are more likely to embrace this boat shoe trend,” she explains. “Comfort-focused footwear is something that continues to grow, and our top performers are dad sandals and ballet flats.”
When Loewe’s creative director Jonathan Anderson gets behind a trend, you know it’s going to make a big splash, and he’s included souped-up boat shoes in his Fall/Winter 2024 menswear collection. Its wide toe box and autumn color palette make it surprisingly practical for the winter months.
Remixed in women’s clothing, the deck shoe looks more like a flexible slipper; Joel Atkin, Matches’ menswear buyer, says his customers prefer a more formal approach. “The boat shoes that Prada and Loewe featured on the runway are an approachable way to accessorize the spring 2024 chic trend,” she explains. “At Matches, we have seen double-digit growth in deck shoes since this time last year.” Aside from classic customers who will repurchase them as soon as the soles are opened, he explains that they also appeal to “a more contemporary man who is playing with the new style of formal dressing.”
Perhaps it’s not so surprising that the natural continuation of the quiet luxury movement is to dress like you grew up sailing on your father’s yacht. Miu Miu’s It Girl stylist Lotta Volkova may be literally styling her boat shoes with aquatic floss loops, but that also doesn’t mean you should dress like you’re auditioning. Below Deck Mediterranean. Unless you want to look like a public schoolboy on holiday in Salcombe, it’s safest to limit other stylish items. Instead of a rugby shirt and chinos, pair your heels with off-duty suits that don’t have Sloane Ranger energy. Hobbs recommends “temporarily retiring your Adidas Gazelles” and wearing them as a “sneaker alternative this summer.”
These are these…
Leather lug sole, £225, Aimé Leon Dore x Timberland; Pale suede, £660, Miu Miu; Row Sailor leather loafers, £950, My Theresa
Clarks Suede boat shoes, £160, Matches Fashion
Leather boat shoes, £109.99, Mango; Crocodile effect leather with lug sole, £180, Duke and Dexter; Oiled waxy leather Port Edges, £140, Sebago
Suede, £650, bally; Hybrid leather loafer, £175, Russell and Bromley
Two-eye boat shoes, £130, timberland; Tommy Hilfiger Suede boat shoes, £110, asos