All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Footwear News may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Celebrity stylists Danielle O’Connell and Alix Gropper are readying their closets and clients for spring. This month, the New York and L.A.-based duo have teamed up with Marc Fisher LTD to launch a curated collection of shoe styles and a campaign to coincide with it.
Within the spring ’24 edit, the stylists zeroed in on a range of sandals and kitten heels. This season is all about the ballet flat and cowboy boot, too, they told FN.
“We really wanted the collection to speak to [our bi-coastal lifestyles] since we’ve launched offices in both locations. The Augusta slide sandal style and the Lenore footbed sandal are probably two of our favorites that we’ll be living in all summer on both coasts,” said Gropper.
Known for working with clients such as Alix Earle and Paige Desorbo, the stylists have a knack for balancing masculine and feminine pieces to create high-fashion, unique looks.
One way to do that is with the ballet flat, for instance.
“Pair the ballet flat with long, menswear shorts and a lace sock to make it edgy, since it is kind of a more inherently feminine, dainty style,” suggested Gropper.
O’Connell added, “Let the shoe be the unexpected part of the outfit. Fashion is all about experimenting and doing things that stand out and matching colors and textures that typically don’t go together.”
While consumers have taken a step back from the high heel at the moment, the stylists said height will make a comeback this summer, which is why they’ve highlighted Marc Fisher LTD’s Chesse and Cairo platforms in their capsule.
“Whenever you’re wearing shorts or dresses, it’s great to have height. It elongates the leg. It makes people look taller,” explained O’Connell. “Come summer time, high heels are going to have another moment.”
Western-inspired looks are also here to stay. With festival season upon us, O’Connell and Gropper anticipate cowboy boots to be a go-to shoe as an alternative to a heel. Rather than leaning heavy into country core, the stylists suggest pairing the boots with an oversized leather moto jacket or a jersey and miniskirt.
When it comes to putting together any outfit, the key is to take risks, they added.
O’Connell, who said she was always married to the idea of high-heels only, has shifted and added lower heel heights to her closet. Noting Marc Fisher LTD’s Posey slingback kitten heel pump and the Dennie T-strap sandal, she said a simple heel, paired with a sock, or in a color other than black or silver, can elevate an outfit and take it day-to-night.
Added Gropper, “We always push the idea that the client should be wearing the clothes not the other way around.”
See the curated collection here.
