The 8 Cult Shoe Brands That Fashion Insiders are Swearing By this Autumn

A sneaker is great for hitting 10,000 steps, but sometimes an occasion calls for something that isn’t rubber-soled and designed to go faster. How can you telegraph your sense of humour on a first date? Perhaps a spike-heeled boot that means business. What about a job interview where the persona you’re pitching is dynamic yet dangerously organised. A neat ballet flat sans bow could be the way forward.

Luckily, a handful of cult footwear brands are prioritising shoes with personality. The trick is finding the one that speaks to yours. So whether you’re looking for the 2025 equivalent of a kinky boot or a well-crafted flat that, whisper it, will carry you 10,000 steps (and beyond), these are the eight that come influencer-approved.

Beloved by some of the best shoe tastemakers in the business—including Tracee Ellis Ross, Chloë Sevigny and Selena Gomez—Jude should be your go-to for party heels this season. Its Date peep-toe mules, are all you need to update last year’s festive outfits.

Created and executed in Italy, Armarium’s shoes have become a byword for a certain kind of talking-point heel, whether it’s a scrunched-upper loafer or a high-shaft boot with a knife-sharp pointed toe.

Founded by Vanissa Antonious, Neous prioritises an oft-overlook category in the world of footwear: a shoe that is both simple and interesting. Her Egyptian heritage, as well as a childhood spent in Australia, informs her designs for “the modern realist” (think mid-length boots with a striking flatform sole or a glove-like ballet flat with an almond toe).

Based in Berlin, Aeyde has become the stealth-wealth brand to know if you like your shoes to be minimal in mood. From pared-back heels to elegance-first flats, there’s something for every occasion—as long as you like no-muss, no-fuss footwear.

Stockholm’s Toteme isn’t strictly a shoe-only brand, but its attention to detail, bearing in mind it’s a minimalist’s world, is unparalleled. This means its shoes have become as worthy of attention as its stitch-edged scarf coat, particularly the squared-off detail that is featured on flats, boots and heels alike. If that’s your silhouette of choice as opposed to a rounded toe, Toteme is the only place to buy your most prised footwear.

Paris Texas is the brand for sexy footwear that doesn’t hold back. Want to accessorise your chainmail dress with something equally tantalisingly? Its vertiginous satin mules couldn’t be more appropriate. Want to elevate a simple yet stratospheric miniskirt even further? Consider the brand’s scrunched knee-high boots with 10/10 swagger.

If your shoe personality is strictly flats-only, Le Monde Béryl should be on speed dial. Founded in 2016—and taking inspiration from three footwear signatures, Venetian gondolier slippers, ballerina shoes and riding boots—it’s become the only place to shop for perfectly-crafted flats. It’s got everything from clogs to ballet pumps to Mary-Janes, all finessed so they’ll last in your shoedrobe.

Khaite requires no introduction in terms of its clothes, but its boots are definitely worth a browse if you’re partial to something that makes a statement (Tina Leung’s thigh-high trouser boots? They’re completely sold out.)