Photos: Courtesy of the vendors
If you manage to find a pair of velvet, single-sole cork pumps this year, you'll have landed the shoe of 2012—wedding or not. Industry experts Amanda Brooks (Barneys New York fashion director) and Elizabeth Kanfer (Saks Fifth Avenue fashion accessories director) sounded off to Women's Wear Daily about the top footwear trends for the new year, telling the paper that a sleek, 90s-esque silhouette à la Manolo Blahnik will be essential, as will ankle-strap sandals and wedges.
If your wedding style follows the fashion zeitgeist beyond classic white, look for earthen textures such as suede, velvet, cork, and wood cast in rich tones of navy, burgundy, deep green, and gold. "The entire market has moved forward to show more sophisticated and elevated collections," Kanfer says. "We are excited about the amount of emerging talent in the footwear industry." Of the names you already know, Kanfer and Brooks say the key players this year will be boundary-pushers Charlotte Olympia Dellal and Tabitha Simmons, fashion favorites Celine and Alexander Wang, and the always reliable Christian Louboutin and Prada. —Phillip B. Crook
Clockwise from top left: Nine West, $89; Topshop, $116; Tabitha Simmons, $425, My Theresa; Guess, $99, Bloomingdale's; Michael Kors, $178.50, Couture Candy; Giuseppe Zanotti, $275