These Shoes Are Going To Be The Sell-Out Hits This Autumn Winter Season

As the sun has set on what felt like a long, hazy summer, a new season is finally upon us. Not just any season either but autumn, the crisp, fresh start to a decidedly less hazy phase of the year. It also happens to be my favourite season, both in terms of the climate and sartorially speaking. What better way to (ahem) kick off said new season than with a brand new pair of autumn shoes?

Perhaps a hangover from late August days spent shopping for new school shoes, inhaling the heady smell of shoe polish and refusing to try on anything but a pair of Kickers (fellow '90s kids, I see you), there's just nothing quite like new footwear.

Shoes are easier to buy than clothes, for a start. They're more democratic, existing outside of the complicated relationship you may or may not have with your body. Everyone loves new shoes. They can be shiny, comfy, vertiginous, practical. Very rarely, they're all of those things at once.

For autumn/winter 2024, there is a whiff of nostalgia in the air, as designers returned to a series of shoe styles you may not have considered since, well, the mid-noughties at least. Apart from that, the overarching theme was all about sophistication and alas, practicality. This season we're also seeing a bold (and perhaps unprecedented) shift away from the 'quiet luxury' trend that ruled the years following Sofia Richie's South of France ceremony. Instead, the runways have been graced with animal-print boots and heels, signalling a move towards more daring and expressive styles.

Grazia's best autumn/winter shoes of 2024: our shortlist:

Best back-to-school shoes: Buckle Flat Square Toe Ballet Pumps, £29.50 on M&S

Best kitten heels: Crocodile Kitten-Heel Shoes, £45.99 on Mango

Best stomper boots: Ganni Panelled Leather Chelsea Boots, £375 on Net-A-Porter

Best over-the-knee boots: Colette Thigh High Boots, £330 on Sézane

Best slippers for the next-to-nothing look: Fluffy Indoor Slippers, £33 on ARKET

Best mules: AM-PM Mules, £295 on ME+EM

Best pointed heels: Aria Heels, £99 on Kurt Geiger

From the return of wedge heels – of course seen spotted at the Chloe on none other than Sienna Miller – to the reappearance of over-the-knee boots (Gucci, Fendi), those trends we once revered and promptly parked (fashion is a fickle business) are back, and we're reminded of why we liked them in the first place.

There's also a celebration of the classics this season. Court shoes (and not just in black) were one of the most ubiquitous shoes on the catwalks (Tory Burch, Toteme, Carven), closely followed by the masculine flatform loafer championed by Gucci and Victoria Beckham.

This being fashion, there were also a few more experimental shoes on the autumn/winter catwalks this year – some of which may not even class as shoes. So, from those to the styles you'll want to wear every day, here are the shoes you'll want to wear this autumn and beyond. They're not Kickers, but they will give you that thrilling feeling of stomping into a brand new season.

Back to school shoes

If, like me, you're filled with nostalgia for the stiff buckle on a brand new pair of Mary Janes that acted as the only sweetener on your first day back at school, you're in luck. Loewe, Miu Miu and Ganni all showed a version of these classic shoes for autumn, reminding us all of their great power (they go with everything and always look chic).

Shop: The best back-to-school shoes

Kitten heels

If you thought seasonal fashion trends were only concerned with the wild and wonderful, let it be known that – Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney, Tory Burch and Toteme all favoured a classic court for autumn/winter 2024. That's it, that's all there was to it – simple, courts with a reimagined heel design, one that's slightly shorter and chunkier.

Shop: The best kitten heels

Stomper boots

An all-weather winner, clompy, tough boots were seen in all their guises. There were buckle-up autumn boots at Miu Miu and a slightly more glamorous iteration at Prada. The best, however, came courtesy of Loewe, where they were paired with juxtaposing floral puffball dresses.

Shop: The best stomper boots

Over the knees get even taller

While thigh-high boots keep returning every autumn, this season's are even higher and slouchier than the ones we've become used to. If that sounds daunting, Fendi showed it doesn't have to be – with the sleek chartreuse pairs worn with denim. While Chloé's over-the-knee boots had the most slouch of all, worn with shorter lengths in earthy tones.

Shop: The best over-the-knee boots

Next to nothing

We're all being encouraged to slip into something more comfortable this season. Designers seemed preoccupied by fuzzy textures, slippers - and even, nothing at all. Carven sent models down the catwalk in fluffy footwear, while Balenciaga's models wore just fishnet tights.

Shop: The best slippers for the next-to-nothing look

Wear your mules

The mule renaissance may have started with spring/summer of last year but, as Louis Vuitton, Chloe and Bottega proved, it's here to stay. There's no one overarching style, either. Instead, look for mules with square-toes or rounded-toes – and feel smug that they're much easier to walk in than most of the alternative heel types.

Shop: The best mules

On point

If you've been recoiling from the ballet shoe and its very rounded toe, you're in luck. Sharp points were the order of the day at Balenciaga and Ferragamo. Whether you opt for razor-sharp flats or perfect points on heels, wear with knee-length skirts and a a blazer for the ultimate Prada vibes.

Shop: The best pointed heels

Hannah Banks-Walker is Grazia's head of fashion commerce. She has previously written for the likes of Harper's Bazaar, The Financial Times, Glamour, Stylist, The Telegraph, Red, i-D and The Pool on everything from fashion to curly hair (hi!) to the patriarchy. Not necessarily in that order. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. But please don't look for her MySpace profile, which until now was the last time she wrote about herself in the third person.