Soft footing: the pampering pleasures of furry footwear
Shearling and furry footwear to sink your feet into this autumn and winter, from Burberry, Gucci, Givenchy and more
![Furry footwear from MSGM and Gucci](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/mwPpVDHUCvpxCGmG3RFGK-415-80.jpg)
It is said that when ‘Object’, a fur-covered teacup, saucer and spoon by Swiss surrealist artist Meret Oppenheim, was displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1936, such were the visceral reactions that one woman dropped to the floor and fainted.
This season’s faux fur- or shearling-covered footwear might not have prompted such reactions when they appeared on the catwalks earlier this year, but in their underlying strangeness and seductive subversiveness, they nonetheless recall the surrealist spirit of Oppenheim’s work.
Furry footwear to sink your feet into
Shoes, £690, by Burberry
There are the sprouting soles of Gucci’s elegant horse-bit pumps – which give the effect of permanently walking on a soft-pile rug – or Daniel Lee’s shaggy shearling mules, part of his debut collection for British house Burberry (revealed at London Fashion Week A/W 2023), where he once again showed his prowess when it comes to crafting unexpectedly covetable accessories.
Shoes, price on request, by Sportmax
Elsewhere, Massimo Giorgetti of MSGM showed soft toy-like furry heels within an illusory collection that he called ‘an infinite journey, a dream within a dream’ – set against a vast white space in Milan for impact – while elegant heeled pumps from Sportmax and Givenchy respectively come with a smooth exterior, the latter recalling the softness of velvet. Each is a pleasure to sink your feet into.
This article appears in the November 2023 Art Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.
Carpets, featured throughout: the ‘Epoca Silky’ carpet in Sand, Rust, Dark Grey, Grey and Caramel, all price on request, by Ege Carpets.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
‘Things are not what they seem’: Unpacking the S/S 2025 menswear shows
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss explores the trends and takeaways from this season’s menswear shows, from an embrace of ‘irrational clothing’ to couture-level craft and eclectic new takes on tailoring
By Jack Moss Published
-
Revisiting the showstopping runway sets of men’s fashion week
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2025 draws to a close, Wallpaper* picks the season’s most transporting runway sets, from giant cats at Dior Men to a ‘fairytale ravescape’ at Prada
By Jack Moss Published
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025 highlights: Prada to Zegna
Wallpaper* picks the best moments from Milan Fashion Week Men‘s S/S 2025, from 15 years of MSGM to Prada’s celebration of youth, and an appearance from Mads Mikkelsen at Zegna
By Jack Moss Published
-
Massimo Giorgetti on 15 years of MSGM: ‘the energy is still exactly the same’
As MSGM celebrates a decade and a half in business with a celebratory runway show at Milan Fashion Week Men’s, its founder Massimo Giorgetti opens up to Scarlett Conlon about keeping the brand’s colourful spirit alive
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
Pre-Fall 2024’s defining looks combine sharp silhouettes with a soft touch
A play on texture defines the Pre-Fall 2024 collections, seeing clean lines and pin-sharp tailoring meet soft-to-the-touch fabrics. Here, photographer Mattia Parodi captures the season’s best looks
By Jack Moss Published
-
Gucci Beauty’s first lipstick by Sabato De Sarno is the perfect shade of deep red
Gucci Beauty’s Rouge à Lèvres Mat in Rosso Ancora made its debut at the Cruise 2025 show at London’s Tate Modern in make-up looks by Lucia Pieroni
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Gucci filled Tate Modern’s Tanks with thousands of plants for its latest Cruise show
Gucci’s Cruise 2025 show, the first by Sabato De Sarno, saw a ‘tapestry’ of plants fill the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Tanks in London’s Tate Modern as a dramatic backdrop to the show
By Jack Moss Published
-
Tennis fashion for serving a style ace this summer
As Wimbledon begins on Monday (1 July 2024), the fashion brands serving up tennis style this summer, from Gucci’s 1970s-inspired capsule collection to a Loewe T-shirt from ‘Challengers’
By Jack Moss Last updated