Showing up to the an event in the same outfit as another attendee may just be the biggest conceivable nightmare for a style star. Well, over the weekend, Ariana Grande and Emma Watson became the latest celebrities to don similar styles. Thankfully for the pair, they avoided something catastrophic—the item in common was footwear that they wore in two completely distinct ways and colors.
Attending the final weekend of Wimbledon, Grande and Watson opted for the Loewe Toy pump from the brand’s spring/summer 2023 collection. Let’s start with Watson who, arguably, had the more simple look of the two.
She wore a white pair of the lambskin heels paired with a crisp sleeveless blouse and linen pants. Watson’s ensemble had a very casual feel to it—she added in a top hat, thin string belt, and Loewe’s Squeeze bag. Grande, on the other hand, took a more formal approach to the way she styled her Loewe heels.
The 30-year-old went with a black version of the shoe which she paired with a cropped cardigan and gray maxi skirt from Ralph Lauren. She rounded things out with a white hat and trench coat, but her heels were certainly the standout of the look.
The Toy pump follows a fairly traditional trajectory to the eye, but is actually packed with some pretty interesting details. The petal shaped toe is different from the more usual pointed “knife” silhouette of a stiletto and flows into a lacquered toy heel (which adds a very Loewe flair).
Jonathan Anderson, the Spanish brand’s creative director, is known for his surreal designs like trompe l’oeil dresses and pixelated ready-to-wear. But he’s transferred that spirit to footwear before, too.
During Loewe’s fall/winter 2022 collection, Anderson unveiled the brands now signature 3D Balloon heels whose shape became an instant hit amongst fashion fans on social media. And for the next season, Anderson took his balloon fascination one step further with the Comic Balloon pump. Instead of one singular inflated balloons, the shoe consisted of dozens of embroidered latex balloons waiting to be blown up.
Loewe shoes have become not only a favorite amongst fashion stars, but also amongst style connoisseurs and collectors who are drawn to their unique shape. Are Anderson’s shoes approaching Margiela Tabi status as the “Hoof” shoe of the moment? Time will tell.