SS18 footwear trend flash: Time for a reboot

It's one of the odd things about fashion seasons these days that one of the key trends the recent SS18 shows should have offered up was all about boots.

That never used to happen in spring and summer seasons. But then, I suppose that by the time these collections drop in-store during February, March or maybe April, there could still be snow on the ground in many key markets.

So what was the big story? The fitted, often laced, boot. And while that might sum up a picture of a fairly limited look in your mind, it’s actually a lot more varied than you might think.

Knee-length, mid-calf or resting on the ankle, designers made them more seasonal with a variety of mesh, strap and cutout options that added some in-built air conditioning to what would otherwise be completely impractical as the weather warms up.

And they also used can’t-miss-it materials from high-shine silver to snakeskins and leather in key seasonal brights or clinical white.

Of course, this boot depends on the rest of the fashion look playing ball and for SS18 it appears to be doing so. The season’s dresses work well with the look and these boots are useful tools for adding a tougher edge to what can be an excessively girly season at times. They match SS18’s retro mood too, as well as the new breed of schoolgirlish minis that hit the runways last month.

And while these boost don’t generally work with pants (you don’t want to hide them, after all), they are the perfect accompaniment to the cropped skinny jeans seen on a number of runways.