Fashion might be notorious for its fleeting taste, but Alaïa’s ballerine flat has been voted in for at least another trend season. While the shoe first debuted in May 2022 (ancient times if it was born within a TikTok aesthetic), the shoe's drop was memorable enough that owners of the ballet flat-meets-Mary Jane style can usually tell you, without missing a beat, when they bought their first pair (and the second) or how long they held out for them on a wait list when they were sold out in rapid succession. Some of those people (myself included) wouldn’t have pegged themselves as ballet flat wearers. But with Lyst reporting a 152 percent increase in the ballerine’s sales year-on-year, it seems like there’s been more than a few changes of heart.
A seemingly overnight success from creative director Pieter Mulier, who has been with the 1964-established French fashion house since 2021, the Alaïa ballet flat was neither a nostalgic relaunch from the archive nor a redux. The novel rubber-soled shoe was the first generation of its kind for the label, one that Mulier and his team modeled after a classic Japanese shoe. It was initially available in just one style—a white or black lambskin version with crystal studs, named the Strass—with a champagne taste price tag of $1,290.
According to Lyst, despite the steep cost, the Strass continues to be a fan favorite and has experienced a 522 percent increase in searches month after month. Over two years after its first release, and now with sixteen different variations of the ballerine on Alaïa’s website (including a brand new perforated calfskin version), the shoe still has major pull as the most coveted luxury ballet flat on the market.
"We can’t keep them in stock despite multiple reorders," says Net-a-Porter’s buying director, Kate Benson. While the embellished version is a fan-favorite, "We are seeing demand across all styles, from more classic mesh to the latest velvet and mohair."
But people aren't just buying them—they're happily collecting them. New York City-based CFO Alyssa Romano was looking for a shoe she could wear around the city that would allow her to climb up and down subway steps but could also fit into a corporate office dress code. “When I wear them, especially the bejeweled ones, I get a lot of compliments,” she says.
Romano has two pairs: one laser-cut nude, one bejeweled black that she eventually hunted down. "My friend who has them in white influenced me to get the bejeweled ones. I grew up in the ‘80s when hardware-adorned everything was in. I loved it then and still lean that way," she says. The newest iterations are now an everyday staple she wears on repeat.
Celebs are also getting in their steps while wearing Alaïa ballet flats. While 2023’s quiet luxury trend may have helped supply the shoe's initial popularity, It girl endorsements from Sophia Richie Grange and Jennifer Lawrence have also helped carry their momentum.
And despite an underworld of dupes, available from knockoff and contemporary brands selling vastly cheaper look-alikes, people are still adding the thousand-dollar versions to their carts and wishlists. In part because “those styles don’t come in pretty packaging,” notes Barbara Janeczek, Lyst’s curation manager. The unique deep brown, leather-like shoe box closed with a black-and-silver belt buckle only adds to the shoe's virality, making it another collector's piece and a nice unboxing moment to take to social media. “The packaging was not just an afterthought; it was a statement for enhancing the overall luxury experience and driving further demand,” she notes. Empty versions of the ballerine shoe box and dust bags sell on eBay, for roughly $30.
With consistent demand for them, luxury destinations like Net-a-Porter will continue supporting the Alaïa ballet flat for the seasons ahead. Benson, the retailer's buying director, says they’re constantly restocking their current inventory of mesh flats but will also invest in the cross-over ballet flat, a relatively new style her team anticipates will have huge demand.
While fashion forecasters couldn't even have predicted the shoe's impressive demand and staying power, Janeczek predicts an eventual peak and gradual fade away. But if you haven’t taken the plunge and want a pair, you still have time. "There is definitely [another] version or two of this shoe that I want," says Romano. "There's a red velvet one that I love and one with beaded pom poms on them. I can see myself getting another pair for fall."
Once you slip them on, you start to get the hype around the status flat that enlists the comfort of a sneaker. But it also means that when someone stops you on the street to compliment your shoes—and ask where they're from— you can tell them, in Cher Horowitz's wise words, "It's an Alaïa. It's like a totally important designer."
