A walk down the aisle calls for just the right shoes — and in 2026, that can mean any number of styles.
Today’s bride is looking for a sustainable shoe that can be reworn time and time again after the wedding, believes Betzábe González, founder of the luxury women’s footwear label Betzábe.
In lieu of “fragile silk shoes,” preferred footwear materials for brides are leather — be it patent, calf or napa — and PVC, according to González. Comfort is also paramount for the big day — so Betzábe presents a bridal lineup including 15mm flat sandals, 65mm kitten heels and 80mm heels and platforms, offering diversity in a typically high heel-oriented market.
On top of that, the Mexican-born designer emphasized a desire for shoes that aren’t the usual color associated with weddings. “The modern bride doesn’t just want the option of white shoes anymore,” she told FN, citing an interest in clear PVC and metallic silver options.
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From celebrity weddings to recent collaborations, a slew of outside-the-box bridal shoes have hit the scene lately. Diversity in bridal footwear styles can likely be attributed, at least in part, to the large scale of modern weddings. These days, many couples opt for wedding weekends with multiple events packed in, from a welcome party to a rehearsal dinner to a farewell brunch — and, of course, the ceremony itself. That means there’s room for multiple looks, including various pairs of shoes. Exemplifying this is a recent capsule collection from a collaboration between women’s footwear brand Larroudé and NYC-based womenswear label Markarian.
A statement from Markarian founder Alexandra O’Neill reads in part, “We wanted the capsule to capture the romance and ceremony of dressing for a wedding weekend in its entirety: delicate lace mules for quieter moments, satin platforms with a sense of exuberance and embellished sandals that feel luminous after dark.”
As evidenced in the Larroudé x Markarian collection, there are several directions brides — and grooms — can take when it comes to wedding footwear, and the multiple-event format allows the betrothed to try out different silhouettes throughout the celebration. On one hand, there’s the classic and refined footwear aesthetic that a traditional bride might opt for. This was exemplified at the royal wedding in June between Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling, who wore Jimmy Choo’s Love slingback pumps in ivory satin for the occasion.
Another celebrity wedding, this one between Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, featured a modern and more comfortable take on a classic white pump — the bride wore Christian Louboutin‘s Miss Z pump for the civil ceremony and Turner wore glossy black Ferragamo dress shoes. We also know Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce both wore custom Christian Louboutin shoes for their big day, though we don’t yet know the specific styles — but we might imagine based on her personal style that the superstar went with a statement heel.
While classic white heels remain popular, brides and grooms are also reaching for more creative silhouettes. When Lainey Wilson married Devlin “Duck” Hodges, she wore Louboutin heels, but the couple also had custom cowboy boots on hand designed by Michael Petry, the creative director of Wilson’s boot brand Golden West.
Petry said of Wilson’s pair, “My only rule for Lainey was to wear them, get loose and have the time of your life. I wanted these boots to create memories and tell stories.” And he said of Hodges’ pair, “It’s obviously a keepsake, but it’s also a beautiful boot infused with a sense of home that he can wear for special occasions for years to come.”
In another example of unique wedding shoes, Danielle Frankel teamed up with Birkenstock on a buzzy bridal collection which launched earlier this year — applying luxury satin, pearls and hand-painted florals to a selection of sandal and clog silhouettes. Frankel told FN ahead of the drop, “We see these pieces fitting into any part of a wedding, and like to think that this collection can act as a lasting keepsake that’s worn well beyond the celebration.”
From Betzábe to Michael Petry to Danielle Frankel, designers are communicating that wedding shoes don’t have to be limited to one day in someone’s life — and there’s more freedom than ever to try out unexpected styles that are perfect for the big day, or any day.
