Kat Maconie, the London-based footwear designer embraced by Halle Berry, Angela Bassett and Taylor Swift, has launched her Autumn/Winter lineups.
The two designer shoe collections—one under her namesake brand and the other from Le Clique by Kat Maconie—arrive during a tough time for fashion footwear. Though the overall U.S. footwear market recorded double-digit growth in the second quarter compared to two years ago, sales of dressier styles remained below pre-Covid days, according to the NPD Group. Total U.S. fashion footwear sales in the quarter totaled $3.9 billion in the period, down 6 percent versus 2019.
Still, there have been signs of improvement. After reporting a double-digit decline in dress in the quarter ended Jan. 30, Shoe Carnival saw demand climb in the following quarter. Sales of women’s dress shoes only dropped in the single digits compared to 2019 and soared in the triple digits versus last year.
“There’s a lot of weddings going on right now,” Carl Scibetta, Shoe Carnival’s senior executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, said at the time. “Not all the categories [are] back, but we’re definitely seeing that movement to buy goods that, frankly, [the consumer] hadn’t bought for 14 months.”
Kat Maconie’s Autumn/Winter lineup looks to capitalize on this returning demand. The new collection, the brand said, “represents the desire to reignite the joy in dressing while keeping us safe and physically connected.”
Serpentine shapes—symbolic of “death and rebirth,” the brand said—act as a focal point for the collection, wrapping around the foot “in soothing yet smothering incarnations.” Styles like the Caya and Lucie heels, meanwhile, feature floral designs in an allusion to “newly emerging life.” The Olive, distinct for its tulle-draped heel, represents another notable entry in the collection. Prices range from $260 to $475.
Le Clique by Kat Maconie also launched its Autumn/Winter line. The leather-free shoes—described as “a collection of killer basics that are timeless but not timid”—sport a bold color palette and include 40 different styles that are designed to be worn “day in day out.” Prices start at $185 and top out at $335.