Mens 'toe shoes' are officially in season this summer, according to fashion bible Vogue, despite the magazine referring to them as “the most hideous footwear of all.”
The trend, which prominently features toes, has been spotted on numerous men's shoes ranging from slippers to sandals - and seems to have Vogue creative director Jonathan Anderson enamoured.
The fashion magazine announced the unlikely trend of summer after Anderson posted multiple toe-themed photos to his Instagram.
In the first photo he uploaded, which happens to be a print from his JW Anderson men’s Fall 2018 collection, an illustrated man can be be seen licking a foot.
The photo may have been a hint at what was to come, as Anderson shared two other Instagram photos shortly after - both of high-fashion toe shoes.
Seeming to show his approval of the bizarre trend, Vogue’s creative director uploaded a picture of a pair of men’s slippers from the Loewe Resort 2019 collection - which feature needle-point toes accessorised with toe rings, as well as a photo of a black gladiator-inspired pair, complete with sculpted toes, from the same collection.
Loewe isn’t the first designer to foray into the world of toe shoes - designers Céline and Maison Margiela have both released their own versions, as has the brand Vibram, which has been creating fitness-geared toe shoes for years.
However, not everyone is as “obsessed with the gangly oddities of feet” as Anderson - quite the opposite actually.
On Instagram, comments ranged from “Oh my god, stop, my eyes,” to “I hate feet… this is my utter nightmare.”
And on Twitter, people were equally unimpressed with the new trend.
“As a person and a footwear designer, this upsets me #cringe,” one person tweeted.
Unfortunately, despite being the “ugliest footwear of all,” toe shoes might be everywhere this season.
