Step aside body piercings - pierced shoes are the trend that's got fashion lovers divided

Every so often a trend comes along that disrupts the fashion community, and with that, it's usually pretty divisive too.

With the 'clean girl' aesthetic making waves, we're all stripping back how we look and what we wear - so perhaps you won't be surprised to learn that piercings and other body modifications are this season being replaced by something a little more bold, yet all the more temporary: Shoes.

We're seeing more and more brands tap into the pierced shoe trend, which sees a typical loafer or boot modified with jewellery that looks slick enough to be septum, or even earlobe-worthy.

The trend started causing a stir back in spring 2023, when Tory Burch debuted an entire pierced shoe collection, comprised of illusion footwear, including £600 chelsea boots, complete with toe ring, and now-viral mules with a metal hoop cutout.

Lado Bokuchava/Tory Burch

By the end of 2023, Lyst has penned Tory Burch as a rising brand to watch, and the pierced mules made the top 10 list of hottest products that year, alongside Dior's Toujours bag, and JW Anderson's frog clutch.

They've proven popular, too, and even today they're commonplace on many an it-girl Instagram feed, and popular social media Fashion and Trend Analyst, Mandy Lee, ranked them among her favourite "freaky" shoes earlier this year.

Other brands have capitalised on the success of the unconventional shoes, too, with Cult Gaia releasing their ever-popular Joselyn boots, complete with septum piercing, and Lado Bokuchava dropping a Mary Jane covered top-to-toe in huggie hoops.

"It’s a bit of high fashion fun, and if you are a bit reticent about permanently scarring yourself for that extra body or facial piercing, well, you can indulge your desire on your shoes instead", says Nicky Hambleton-Jones, Stylist and Author of Bolder Not Older.

"Done well it will add a level of sophistication to an outfit, but I doubt it’s a trend that is going to take over our lives."

Social media users also seem to be equally divided as Gen Z catches wind of the trend.

"I feel like these are a podiatrist’s nightmare", one person wrote of the trend.

"I'm definitely not cool enough to pull these off", a second chimed.

"I low-key like them", another confessed.

Whether you love them or loathe them, the trend has continually made an annual comeback, and in an era when fashion is used as a representation of your personality, we say going against the norm is très chic.

Jury's out on this one.

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