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It’s hard to believe that this time last year, we hadn’t yet been introduced to the now forever entrenched in our minds Miu Miu micro mini skirt. Then, the house was still prepping its Paris Fashion Week show, we were still happily oblivious of all the extreme Emily Ratajkowski-esque mid-baring looks to come, and the return of low-rise was still something we could, for the most part, ignore.
Even before it was available to shop, the skirt had become one of the most viral fashion moments in recent history, worn by everyone from Nicole Kidman to Paloma Elsesser to Hailey Bieber and, naturally, Em Rata herself. And n ow, the Italian fashion house has done it again: creating the most coveted shoe of the season and cementing the return of the ballet flat in the process.
At its Autumn/Winter 2022 show, Miu Miu sent models down the runway wearing satin ballet flats paired with leg warmers, a throwback to the brand’s 2016 collection of similarly ballerina-inspired shoes with tartan ankle wraps that were soon seen on everyone from Rihanna and Taylor Swift. This new version, available in cute colourways such as powder blue, red, pink and white, is a simpler silhouette with a logo-elasticated band across the top the only visible differentiation from a classic pointe shoe.
Of course, Miu Miu couldn’t have known – unless Miuccia Prada has a great tarot card reader on hand – that balletcore would begin to trend on TikTok almost synonymously with its runway show. Pinterest reports the search volume for ballerina style has increased by 1566% in recent months, while the hashtag #balletcore has over 55.2 million views on TikTok.
“Sales for Miu Miu shoes are up 200 per cent from the beginning of this year,” Diego Abba, CEO of italist.com, tells GRAZIA. The luxury fashion e-commerce company originally saw an increase in searches for ballet flats in 2016 — during Miu Miu’s first foray into the style — but this year’s craze tops even that. Abba, naturally, agrees about TikTok’s influence when it comes to these trends.
I’m making 6 of these, whichever one you see first is your fall vibe #greenscreen #balletcore #fyp
♬ Waltz of the Flowers – Pëtr Il’ič Tchaikovsky
“Speaking of TikTok, we’ve also seen an uptick in brands that correspond to #oldmoneystyle, which has even more views than #balletcore,” Abba reveals, noting designers such as Max Mara, Missoni, and Brunello Cucinelli are currently almost outshining that of Miu Miu on italist.com.
People are not only searching for the satin ballet flats when it comes to Miu Miu either, Abba says. They’re also coveting the high-heeled satin version — one for anyone wanting to differentiate themselves slightly from the crowd — and for those who are still chunky shoe-obsessed, Miu Miu’s chunky Mary Janes, which Abba dubs the “sister to the dainty satin slippers,” are another trending style.
Now the shoe of the season has finally been released to the world, the fashion crowd are, naturally, already fighting to own a pair.
At first glance, they seem fit solely for a dance studio, but director Janicza Bravo has already proven they’re red carpet worthy, music’s most stylish girlie Rosalía has taken them on tour, and fashion editor Julia Hobbs has worn hers to the beach.
A post shared by LA ROSALÍA (@rosalia.vt)
A post shared by Julia Hobbs (@juliahobbs_)
The only question left is who will debut them on a magazine cover. My guess? Emma Corrin.
topics: Miu Miu, ballet flats, rosalia, Trending