Spring Trend Report: Gladiators, Mules, & Sneakers

From the Spring/Summer 2014 shows: Rebecca Minkoff gladiators; Chanel sneakers; Celine mules. Photos courtesy of Vogue and Pinterest.

One of my favorite shoes of all time is a pair of bohemian gold-studded Jeffrey Campbell gladiator sandals from 2009. They were incredibly comfortable and had the right amount of heel so that I didn’t feel like I was wearing heels. Needless to say, I wore them incessantly around New York that summer and then around Europe in 2010, garnering compliments, stares, and ‘where did you get that?’ interrogations from dozens of strangers in one-too-many languages I didn’t understand each day. By 2011, I discovered my mother had thrown them out because they looked “worn out” and “old.” Such is the fate of overly popular shoes, I guess. Will I ever find a gladiator sandal like that again? Probably not. But now that the trend has resurfaced (did it ever really go away?) there will be other gladiators to fill the void, such as these olive green heeled gladiators from Cynthia Vincent, who is arguably the Queen of T-strap sandals.

Other trends on this radar this season: mules and sneakers, both relics of the ’90s. I was a bit hesitant about the return of mules, since many of the styles look a bit too Blossom, but I managed to find some updated, downtown-inspired designs from Vince, Jenni Kayne, and Topshop.

Last but not least are sneakers, which are probably the coolest trend of the season (I’m not even kidding). They were the highlight of the Chanel Spring Couture and Fall 2014 shows, demonstrating high fashion’s version of normcore. While I think it’s a bit absurd to spend more than $200 on a pair of sneakers, these multi-colored sneakers from Pierre Hardy redefine the form and function of a running shoe, making it the ultimate statement sneaker if we’ve ever seen one.

Scroll down to peruse the trends of the season and let me know which trend you’re coveting most.