Kitten heel flip-flops, worn here by Gili Biegun at Paris fashion week, are proving popular with gen Z. Photograph: Raimonda Kulikauskienė/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Kitten heel flip-flops, worn here by Gili Biegun at Paris fashion week, are proving popular with gen Z. Photograph: Raimonda Kulikauskienė/Getty Images Fashion Feline good: why kitten heel flip-flops are winning over flats-only gen Z From Lily Collins at Wimbledon to the cast of Love Island, heels-averse cohort is stepping it up a notch
Prefer the Guardian on Google Gen Z, the flats-only generation, has finally succumbed to the heel – albeit a tiny one. Long vocally anti-heel, the cohort who were born between 1997 and 2012 have famously shunned millennials’ obsession with Jimmy Choos in favour of pancake-flat shoes, from the Adidas Samba “It-trainer” to the split-toe Margiela Tabi and so-called “French girl ballet flats” .
But they now appear to be embracing a potential gateway heel, typically measuring in the region of 1.5in (3.8cm) or the height of a triple-A battery.
The kitten heel flip-flop has been seen on the feet of trendsetters Hailey Bieber and the model Kaia Gerber, and has featured in countless TikTok “fit-checks” ; a street-style favourite, the shoe has become a way to channel the slinky style of the 90s this summer.
View image in fullscreen Lily Collins, pictured with her husband, Charlie McDowell, wore a pair of Manolo Blahnik kitten heel flip-flops to Wimbledon. Photograph: Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for Emirates It’s also been the heel of choice for spectators in the Wimbledon crowd, as well as for contestants in the Love Island villa. The Emily in Paris star Lily Collins styled her black Manolo Blahnik pair with a white bandeau and capris to watch the men’s final last week, while several of the ITV show’s islanders have sported them while pulling potential love interests for chats by the fire pit.
On the high street, John Lewis says sales of kitten heel toe-post shoes, which feature a strap between the big toe and its neighbour, shot up 300% compared with last year, adding that the £109 thong sandals from its collection with Rejina Pyo “sold out very quickly”.
Luxury fashion labels including Chloé, Bottega Veneta and Max Mara have sent them down the catwalk, while searches for kitten heel flip-flops on the resale app Depop have jumped 260% since April; at Vinted they are up 209% year on year. Meanwhile, the fashion search platform Lyst reports a similar 202% surge in demand quarter on quarter.
So why is a revamp of the humble flip-flop persuading gen Z to finally step into heels?
Natalie Munro, a news writer at the digital fashion publication Who What Wear, says the appeal lies in the fact that it’s a heel that doesn’t necessarily feel like one: “It’s still got that casual energy … so it’s not a very intimidating heel to wear.”
Part of that is, of course, its diminutive height. In-demand versions from brands such as Toteme, Miu Miu, Zara and Vivaia measure between 1.5in and 2.1in, offering minimal lifts – perfect starter heels for a generation more used to “touching grass” than wearing stilettos.
Kitten heel flip-flops can endure the mileage of a morning commute, while not looking out of place on nights out. “In a lot of instances, it’s an appropriate shoe to wear to work and then into the evening as well,” says Munro. “It’s obviously very heatwave appropriate.”
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