Are Archival Shoes the New Archival Bags?

3 min read

We’re firmly in a new era of It Shoes, so it’s no surprise that brands are now decidedly devoted to reviving the sneakers, sandals, and clogs of yesteryear. Just look at Miu Miu’s recent Bubble Sneaker release, which pulls from the label’s fabled early-2000s shoe style that meshes a tech-y, utilitarian gorpcore sole with a lush, streamlined look and crystal beadwork. Likewise, Chloé is on an archival kick, with the rerelease of the Maxime platform wedge, originally designed by Phoebe Philo for Chloé in 2006, and the reintroduction of the humble Y2K staple, the Susanna boot. We’ve seen extreme fashion archive-mining in handbags à la Fendi Baguettes and YSL Mombasas, so why not shoes, too?

Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2026 Campaign photographed by Zoe Ghertner.

Perhaps the early trend of vintage shoes revived is a bigger clue about the way we dress in a modern world more than anything else. Miu Miu’s Bubble sneakers were styled on the runway with suiting that looked like it could have been ripped from the ’70s, empire tops and funny hats with a distinctly ’60s air about them, ’90s-inspired outerwear and leathers, and sheer little embroidered dresses with delicate 1920s embellishments. The shoes, like the overall styling, seamlessly mix eras because in the year 2026, there is not one definable, overall aesthetic that is truly new. We’re in the referential era, and shoes are the finishing touch.

“I think that shoes have more of a sense of identity to them. We talk about ‘Walk a mile in my shoes,’” Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, recently told ELLE of fashion’s obsession with unique shoes in 2026.

Steele added, “I think that ‘art shoes’ are very much a way of saying, ‘I am a special, artistic person.’ Whereas a handbag is still slightly contaminated with mercantile values. It’s really about where you carry your money around, and it’s a very expensive accessory. They want something that’s special because everything is so commodified and mass-produced that you go to stores all over the world and it’s all the same stuff. People are looking so much for something that will be special and different.” Fashion’s renewed interest in shoes as the topical accessory over bags is clearly strong. Combined with the ongoing overall trend of collecting vintage, it’s the perfect storm for new archival revivals.

Chloé’s archival Maxine sandal re-issue in the wild.

The extreme shoe influencer Lars Byrresen Petersen has his own theories about why shoes of the past are being rereleased, and why we might be seeing a lot more of this in the near future, too. “More so now, shoes have become a very distinct and expressive part of an outfit because everyone is obsessed with sort of paired down clothing,” he says. “The re-release is due to two things, I believe: brands are seeing that vintage shoes are trending and that people are swooning over them on socials. But also some people are uncomfortable buying vintage shoes. And I understand why: you can always feel the previous owner of a vintage shoe. It takes the shape of its original wearer and therefore a bit of their sole, pun intended, will always be in that shoe.”

If the archival shoe fits, why not wear it?