The New Era of the Wedge

There are those trends which are just gone from our lives, leaving us to wonder whether they were ever really that good in the first place. And then, there are those trends that come back with such confidence that you find yourself wondering what on earth was wrong with them to begin with.

Wedges may be next in line.

Remember the shoe that once seemed permanently attached to 2000s summer outfits, oversized sunglasses and a questionable amount of tan? That wedge is back in the spotlight with Spring/Summer 2027 collections featuring a completely different take on that staple piece.

And honestly, I did not expect to be convinced.

The wedge of our memory

For a lot of us, the word "wedge" probably brings back a very specific image.

A cork platform. Espadrille detailing. Maybe a floral dress. Definitely a pair of sunglasses that are far too big for your face.

The wedge became one of the iconic styles of the 2000s and early 2010s as it was offering something that the classic heel couldn’t. Height without the pain. With wedges, you could walk in them for longer, they felt more table they still gave the same lifting effect of a classic heel. Practical, right?

Which, when you think about it, is actually quite useful for university life.  There are nights when you want the extra height but know you are going to be walking across town, standing in a queue or somehow ending up walking home at 2am.  Well, the small stiletto is not always the best solution.

But eventually, the wedge became one of those trends that fashion collectively decided was no longer cool.

Until now.

So, what's changed?

The 2027 version doesn't look like it has simply been pulled out of the back of someone's wardrobe.

At the latest Milan and Paris shows, designers have been playing with the shape of the wedge itself, turning what was once a fairly straightforward summer shoe into something much more sculptural.

According to Women's Wear Daily, the comeback of the wedge has been observed in many Spring 2027 collections, with designers including Paris Texas and Givenchy experimenting with the silhouette. Rather than hiding the wedge underneath the shoe, these designs make the construction part of the visual identity.

The above collage demonstrate how different designers have handled the trend of the wedge in this particular season. For instance, the golden laced wedge can be traced to the Vivienne Westwood’s Spring/Summer 2027 line while the black wedge was introduced by Louis Vuitton in the Fall/Winter 2026 line. Moreover, the trend has not been left out by Givenchy for Spring/Summer 2027 where the designer has a sculpted gold wedge topped up with an oversized flower element.

And that is the main point.

The old wedge was often about practicality. The new wedge is about shape.

The heel is transformed into something architectural in order to form bizarre curvatures and exaggerate proportions. Instead of simply asking "how can we make a heel easier to walk in?", designers are asking "what can this shoe look like?"

That is what makes the trend fresh.

Why do we keep bringing the 2000s back?

Fashion seems to have a weird approach towards its history.

We spend ages thinking of something as outdated and embarrassing, only to eventually decide that it was actually brilliant.

Low-rise jeans came back. Ballet flats came back. Tiny bags came back. Skinny scarves had their moment. Even the dreaded peplum has started appearing again.

The wedge feels like another part of that cycle.

As far as university students go, coming back to 2000s is especially recognisable experience. Those trends which can be found on catwalks nowadays seem to have been seen by us in old family pictures, movies or wardrobes of those people who were of our age twenty years ago. What seemed dated becomes fresh again, since we see it for the first time through a different lens.

But fashion rarely copies the past exactly. Instead, it takes familiar ideas and changes the proportions, materials and styling until they feel relevant again.

And that is what is interesting about the wedge.

The 2027 version does not necessarily imply dressing like it is 2005. You can wear the shoe with a much sharper outfit, a minimalist dress, tailored trousers or something deliberately oversized.  It could even work with the sort of outfit you would throw on for a night out after spending all day in the library. 

The shoe becomes the nostalgic reference rather than the entire outfit.

And suddenly, it works.

From controversial to covetable

And there is something funny about the fact that fashion is able to make us change our minds so quickly.

A few years ago, someone wearing a chunky wedge could easily have been accused of bringing back the wrong part of the 2000s. Now, put the same basic idea on a runway, change the proportions and give it a designer label, and suddenly it becomes something people want to copy.

It raises a bigger question about what actually makes something fashionable.

Is it the item itself, or is it our perception of it?

A shoe hasn't necessarily changed enough to become an entirely different object. Our perception of it has.

And that is where the styling comes in.

Fashion is very good at making us reconsider things we thought we had already decided about.

Would I wear them?

This is where I am still not sure.

The practical side of me understands the appeal.  It provides you with height but without putting all the weight onto a tiny heel. The more sculptural versions being shown for 2027 are also far removed from the traditional cork wedge that probably comes to mind first.

And realistically, wearing a shoe that can withstand more than five minutes of walking between lectures, pub and a night out is not the worst idea.

However, there is still something terrifying about intentionally wearing a trend that I remember hearing my cousins talk about relentlessly the first time.

Perhaps, that is exactly what makes it fun.

Fashion isn't supposed to be completely predictable. If every trend looked effortlessly chic from the moment it appeared, getting dressed would be incredibly boring.

So, are wedges back?

It certainly looks that way.

But maybe the more interesting question is if we are ready to bring them back into our wardrobes.

In my case, I definitely need some more convincing.

Then again, give it six months and I might be wearing a pair myself!