October puts us well and truly in the season of the witch. Animal textures: black leather, sheepskin, plumage, are what we’re in need of now the weather has cooled and our dressing can heat up. Even better if there’s hardware. Autumn/Winter strikes the hour for goths to shine.
Footwear is the ideal entry into power dressing like a person who can cast a spell. Witches’ shoes and feet have been relevant to note since women were accused of having devil’s hooves and burned for their supposed crimes. For a Halloween outfit, it-girl Alexa Chung reached straight for her hoof-like Tabis (circa 2012, gifted to her by Maison Margiela) in a Vogue clip, now archived. This boot is a timeless shape. In the present, a fervour for an extreme point or split-toe heel or shoe shows no sign of stopping, this time fuelled by love over hate.
Prada’s feathered laced-up creations from Autumn/Winter 2026 capture an essence of wildness met with control, in that essential point. They’re the new shiny raven of formal footwear. Looking at the pumps and boots elicits a sort of ecstasy, a compulsion to touch; it’s visceral. For Spring/Summer 2027 Prada brought forward their pointed-toe heel in more demure textures. Not only does this lengthen the silhouette, but a bold shoe also aligns with non-conformity. Dressing should be an exploration, and that involves some rule-breaking, fantasy even. The animalistic offerings are a style of witchy footwear that is divine.
Prada
Prada
Prada
Prada
Prada
Dogma on witchcraft has said: animal-like appearance “is a trick or the Devil sets himself in motion in front of people”, according to Heinrich Kramer in 1487, The Malleus Maleficarum. Naturally, your sole doesn’t imply the state of your soul, now or then. This frantic approach to difference, however, still resonates with our current state of the world, in a moment of social debate and change. To flirt with outdated ideas about people who are different being witches, whilst it holds no power, or that if your feet are seen as animal or hoof-like it’s devilish, is a sartorial win. This is a laugh in the face of those attempting to police people’s appearances.
The shoemakers for riotous outsiders and high-fashion femmes keep delivering fantasies; one of these is Miista. Their latest boots with pointed toes, complete with lacing or buckles, are sculptural and witchy. Gothic black leather takes priority, with some of their shoes like something out of Wednesday. Miista’s feral curled sheepskin boot is decidedly saucy too. Animal hide is tactile; there’s something grounding about choosing nature’s materials over plastic. The Saura boot is somewhat translated into the Ripley cardigan, as the body is put on display in a way that harnesses desire. What’s more, their recent campaign looks like a coven.
Miista
Miista
Miista
Miista
Miista
Of course, the Tabi makes the ideal cloven hoof, popularised in the West by Maison Margiela. However, their haunting Autumn/Winter 2026 show positioned the boot in an unassuming way, present but not central. The discourse around Tabis continues healthily. WoodchuckSato also render Tabi ballet flats and boots beautifully, constructed well in leather or, if you’re feeling a little soft and feminine, silk. These shapes are divisive, and even more attractive for it.
Maison Margiela
Maison Margiela
Maison Margiela
Maison Margiela
Further proof of the season of the witch moment is Chanel’s Autumn/Winter 2026 couture show, which presented two straw-covered shoes that enter the occult side of things, à la Wicker, the Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård film on our minds. It is out now in UK cinemas. Chopova Lowena for Spring/Summer 2027 said witchcraft and whimsy in the same breath with embellished as well as furry pumps, matched with sheer black organza. Their Autumn/Winter 2026 boots were the show-stoppers, though. Feline and fit for a sorceress. Textures are key to this style that invokes the timeless power of a femme who knows what they want. Quality construction and animal codes will always do the mileage.
Chanel
Chanel
Chopova Lowena
Chopova Lowena
Chopova Lowena
Chopova Lowena
