Celebrities are making a strong case for the return of the peeptoe

Much to the chagrin of Carrie Bradshaw, one's shoe choices might not receive as much attention as the rest of our wardrobe, but when a steady stream of celebrities suddenly all appear in the same style of footwear—one that hasn't seen popularity in over a decade—it's hard not to notice.

The peeptoe—a style nostalgically linked to the Noughties and early 2010s—is finding favour once again in 2025. Earlier this week, Hailey Bieber slipped into not one but two variations of the style for the Met Gala; the first, a towering pair of black platform peeptoe stilettos by Yves Saint Laurent, and the second, some metallic gold mules which she styled with a Champagne-hued corseted dress for the after party circuit.

Just a couple of weeks prior, Elle Fanning attended the AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony in Los Angeles wearing an almost identical style to Bieber, giving the trend her red-carpet seal of approval, while Katie Holmes has been seen wearing multiple iterations of the silhouette over the past few months.

There's one brand brazenly leading the peeptoe renaissance, and it's a name that's becoming a firm favourite amongst celebrities; last month, perennial fashion muse Chloë Sevigny stepped out in New York in a pair of firetruck-red mules with a triangle slit at the point by emerging brand Jude. Other celebrities have followed in her footsteps; Leslie Bibb, Ruth Negga, Tracee Ellis Ross and Nicole Kidman have all embraced Jude's recognisable style in the past few months alone.

The divisive shoe joins a growing sub-genre of returning Noughties trends — see also the resurgence of houndstooth, peplum silhouettes, and skinny jeans. The cyclical nature of fashion is well documented, with designers continually reimagining era-defining styles in their seasonal collections, but those who were present the first time around will remember such trends as pillars of post-2008 recession style.

Recession indicators, such as the oft-referenced hemline index, have become an increasing topic of conversation across social media in the past year. Though investors might look to inflation and unstable stock markets, fashion looks to the runways to take the temperature of the wider culture. Previous recession indicators have included a return to neutral colours, a prioritisation of officewear, and minimalism — a list that reads like the inspiration for Calvin Klein’s most recent collection. The homecoming of fashion trends such as the peep toe, the popularity of which last spiked following the 2008 recession, doesn’t feel like just a coincidence.