The Shoe Trend Everyone Left in the 2010s Is Suddenly Everywhere Again

The boot with no front on it is back. Across London Fashion Week’s spring 2027 street style this month, showgoers stepped out in boots that leave the toes fully exposed, a design many people last associated with the 2010s. Forecasts for the season had promised slouchy, suede, and cowboy styles, and photographers captured plenty of those too. Peep-toe boots were the shoe nobody predicted, and they arrived with a reputation as one of fashion’s most divisive designs.

Cardi B Films “AH HA” Video in Toe-Baring Black Boots on a Brooklyn Set

On August 10, Cardi B shot her “AH HA” music video in Brooklyn wearing black leather boots with skintight shafts, stiletto heels, and open toe boxes that framed a white pedicure. Straps between her toes gave the pair a flip-flop feel. The song had been out for two weeks, and the finished video arrived August 28. Nobody has publicly confirmed who designed the boots, and the shape itself dates back almost two decades.

Nicolas Ghesquière Showed Open-Toe Boots at Balenciaga in Fall 2007, Before McQueen Followed in Spring 2011

Nicolas Ghesquière ran Balenciaga as creative director from 1997 to 2012, and his Fall 2007 collection, remembered for its chunky Lego-style heels, included open-toe boots. Alexander McQueen presented its own version in Spring 2011. Marie Claire credits the two shows with popularizing the cross between a peep-toe pump and an ankle boot. Both remained runway statements, and the shoe still needed famous feet to carry it into everyday life.

Rihanna Debuts Tom Ford’s Elongated Open-Toe Boots in 2013, and Kim Kardashian Follows in 2016

Two celebrities carried the boot off the runway and into the 2010s mainstream, according to Marie Claire. In 2013, Rihanna debuted Tom Ford’s elongated open-toe boots in a graphic design. By 2016, Kim Kardashian was wearing a thigh-high, skintight take on the shape, and she reached for it again and again that year. Their visibility gave the style a wide audience, and the next champion of the boot came from inside the industry itself.

Victoria Beckham Builds Over-the-Knee Peep-Toe Boots Into Her Autumn/Winter 2019 Collection

Victoria Beckham styled many looks in her autumn/winter 2019 collection with over-the-knee peep-toe boots, and she wore the style herself. The second-skin design combined a very tall stiletto with an open toe, W magazine later noted. Beckham chose a soft blue pair for the Jacquemus show in June 2023, and earlier that year she lounged poolside in a ruby red pair with a gala gown. By spring 2024, she had company on the runway.

Kylie Jenner Wears Unreleased Jacquemus Peep-Toe Boots in Paris as Louis Vuitton and Versace Show Thong-Style Pairs

In early 2024, Kylie Jenner stepped out in Paris in black knee-high boots with flip-flop-style straps and thin metal stiletto heels, all from unreleased Jacquemus Spring/Summer 2024 pieces. Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Victoria Beckham each showed thong-style boots that season, and Sydney Sweeney wore a white Beckham pair in New York that March. Marie Claire wondered aloud whether cold toes and warm shins were worth it, yet still predicted a long run.

London Guest Pairs Suede Knee-High Peep-Toe Boots With a White Tank, Sage Blazer, and Bermuda Shorts

London Fashion Week opened on a 70-degree day, the kind of weather that usually sends people toward sandals, and the peep-toe boot showed up anyway. One guest paired suede knee-highs with a white tank top, a sage green blazer, and Bermuda shorts, a daytime formula that reads clean and easy. Marie Claire took the outfit as proof that the boots work in any season and with pared-back wardrobes. Other guests took the shoe in very different directions.

Black Croc With a Turquoise Gleam and an All-Black Look With Curved Wedges Show the Boot’s Range

One attendee started the week in black crocodile-pattern peep-toe boots with a faint turquoise gleam. Another built an all-black outfit that ran from a coat and horsebit belt down to curved wedge-heeled boots. Between the two, the shoe worked as a canvas for texture, color, and tailoring, and it suited maximalist and minimalist wardrobes alike. On opening day, one more guest added hosiery to the mix.

Tomato-Red Thigh-High Socks Meet Lace-Up Peep-Toe Boots on Day 1 of London Fashion Week

On Day 1, one guest pulled tomato-red thigh-high socks under lace-up peep-toe boots, so the open toes and heels glowed in the same shade. A turtleneck dress and a Valentino tote in matching cool crimson finished the outfit, and the red carried a New York Fashion Week color trend across the Atlantic. WWD’s roundup found hosiery shaping many of the week’s looks, from tights matched to pumps to striped socks with flats. Milan and Paris fashion weeks are still ahead.

Nearly Two Decades of Reinvention Explain the Peep-Toe Boot’s Staying Power

Since Balenciaga’s Fall 2007 show, peep-toe boots have appeared on runways, in celebrity wardrobes, in a designer’s own label, on a music video set, and on London’s sidewalks. Each wave changed the details, from stilettos and wedges to thigh-high shafts and lace-ups, and each wearer found a different use for the open toe. That range explains the boot’s staying power. The shoe of the 2010s never left fashion for long, and London has confirmed it belongs to the present.