Spotify hosted its annual Best New Artist Party on Thursday in Los Angeles, ahead of the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony. As the name of the party indicates, the event celebrated the eight artists nominated in the Best New Artist category this year, including Coco Jones, Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Victoria Monét, Noah Kahan, The War and Treaty, Fred Again and Jelly Roll.
On the red carpet, FN talked to some of the nominees and other musical guests who shared their passion for footwear, revealing tricks to wear high heels for long hours and other shoe-related conversations.
Walking in red pointy pumps and a colorful crochet skirt, Coco Jones revealed her secret for wearing high heels for long periods of time. “I do a lot of calf lifts. And I feel like because my calves are really strong, I walk on a different part of my foot. I can just balance my foot. If one part is hurting, I can balance the next part. It’s really interesting. It’s like a tightrope,” she said.
Remi Wolf, who wore a vintage layered dress with glossy Mary Janes, confessed her love for Prada. “I bought a Prada loafer one time, and I actually have the word Prada loafer tattooed on my leg,” she said. “Amongst my tights and my leg hair is a beautiful Prada loafer tattoo. I got it done in my hotel room at the Ace Hotel in New York. I bought the Prada loafers that morning and I got the tattoo that night.”
Speaking of Prada, Gracie Abrams wore a head-to-toe look from the brand. On the red carpet, she told FN about learning how to walk in heels. “I have big feet, and my mom had shoes like these boots that had a heel that I thought was like the biggest deal of all time, and I remember just like stomping around the hall in my room, kind of like in circles, thinking that I was doing something right,” Abrams said.
Landon Barker also joined the Prada fan club, wearing shoes from the brand. He also talked about his penchant for high-luxury sneakers. “It’s like they’re overpriced, but I love them. They’re like a daily wear. A timeless shoe,” he said.
Chappell Roan took a style note from Maison Margiela‘s last fashion show and wore split-toe shoes at the event. “These are from Etsy. It’s from a small brand. I’m barely standing up. I need some help. There’s an invisible heel,” she explained. “I’m really on my tippy toes. The top is the highest of my tippy toes.”
Laufey paid homage to Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” with her red metallic shoes on the red carpet. “I wear a lot of red shoes. I love red shoes. I think it’s a perfect pop of color. It is kind of like paying a little bit of homage to Dorothy,” she said.
Those who also followed the red shoes theme were Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr. “I have a lot of different combat boots, heels, cowboy boots. I love any stylish shoe,” Tanya said.
Accompanied by his wife, Bunny Xo, country singer Jelly Roll posed on the red carpet with his pair of custom Air Jordan Retro 1 Hi sneakers. “The Grand Ole Opry gifted me these shoes,” he said.
Aluna proved to be crafty by showing her silver mules, which she customized. “I customized them myself because that’s just what I like to do. Like, I’m gonna make these shoes into at least eight different pairs by the end of the year,” she said. “My album is called ‘Mycelium,’ and it’s all about nature, and I’m going to be wearing this with something green soon. My crochet green. I think that we should be upcycling our own clothes much more often because it’s just really good fun.”
Dixie D’Amelio, whose family owns D’Amelio Footwear, remembered her mom sending her to high heels classes to learn how to walk. “I walk back and forth like 100 times to learn how to walk and I’m still really bad, but my sister is amazing at it. So I just tried to be like her,” she said.
