The Shoe of the Season, and All Things Balletcore

Written By Mia Arrington

Balletcore, pilates princesses, and the soft girl aesthetic found their way onto nearly every girl’s mood board in 2024. Creative director Maximilian Davis took his unique spin with Ferragamo’s SS25 Collection, which not only met the moment of the trend but lent itself to a rich history and set him apart as an example of personal inspiration and the value of diverse leaders in creative direction.

“Beauty In Movement”

Era-hopping moments of Ferragamo’s history with ballet, creative director Maximilian Davis harmonized these events with the dance’s spirit into the Spring Summer 2025 collection. Layered, twisted and tied second-skin cashmere cotton pieces were inspired by practice wear. Opera coats and parachute dress in billowy silk nylons, mix with oversized tailoring and technical tracksuits. Sequin embroidered dresses were a nod to the glamour worn by dancer, choreographer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham, who Salvatore Ferragamo fit for shoes in Florence, 1950 (Ferragamo website, Highlights SS25).

“We were looking at the history of ballet with Ferragamo, one of the references was Katherine Dunham – an African-American ballet dancer, we also looked at Rudolf Nureyev – a Russian ballet dancer – in the 1980s and we looked at his style in terms of elegance and rebelliousness and we brought that together in one collection” - Maximilian Davis, creative director.

Salvatore Ferragamo fitting Katherine Dunham for shoes in Florence, Italy, 1950. Credit: Getty Images

Balletcore has roots far beyond the current trend, which Davis intentionally captured with his 2025 Spring-Summer collection at Ferragamo, an ode to the history of ballet with Ferragamo and the iconic dancers who wore the designer. Muses mentioned by Davis, included notably, Katherine Dunham, an African American dancer, choreographer, and pioneer in her own right, and Rudolf Nureyev – a Russian ballet dancer who danced wearing Ferragamo in the 1980s.

Dunham, considered “the matriarch of Black dance,” was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography and one of the founders of the anthropological dance movement. She showed the world that African American heritage is beautiful. Katherine Dunham revolutionized American dance in the 1930s by going to the roots of black dance and rituals transforming them into significant artistic choreography that speaks to all.

Best known for incorporating African American, Caribbean, African, and South American movement styles and traditional themes into her ballets, Dunham also offered opportunities to African American icons including Alvin Ailey and Eartha Kitt, who studied under her and danced in her productions. Ailey, who collaborated with her on many projects, cited her as an inspiration within his own dance career.

Familiar with her name, my first introduction to Miss Dunham was her and her company’s performance in Stormy Weather, and learning later on that Eartha Kitt toured the world with Dunham’s company as a professional dancer from 1943 to 1948 (Natl. Black Theatre via Instagram).

Eartha Kitt teaching a dance class at the Harlem YMCA on West 135th Street, between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the early 1950s.

Credit: Natl. Black Theatre via Instagram

The influence of ballerinas of color such as Misty Copeland, and Raven Wilkinson, and the movement aesthetic of Josephine Baker, continue to set trends today. Special shoutout to the young Black ballerinas (check them out, here and here) who killed the recent TikTok trend to Jacob Dior’s remix of Diva by Beyoncé. Their stunning movement, attitude, and elegance show why Davis’ direction has the perfect inspiration.

Citing editor Angela Baidoo of The Impression’s critique, Davis’ collection “is a keen example of why it’s important to have creative directors from all walks of life, with varied backgrounds who are given the opportunity to lead at fashion houses whose customer demographic has expanded, while those at the top, not so much. And as ballet trends as a theme for 2025, can we say that Katherine Dunham would have appeared on any of the moodboards of Davis’ fellow designers, chances are probably not.”

The Shoe of the Season

The dynamic sandal heels with an obvious ballet influence and styled with different looks and color palettes, are an adaptation of the archive Ferragamo Opanke shoes. Standing apart from a basic ballet flat, the satin-lined lace-up shoe is a subtle nod to ballet aesthetics and can be dressed up or down. Noted by Baidoo, it’s “a smart way to speak to the (ballet) trend without the need to state the obvious.”

Ferragamo’s execution of Balletcore

While other designers such as Madomorpho, Louboutin, Miu Miu, and Sandy Liang, have all tried their hand at the ballet theme, Maximilian Davis’ cultural citations this season at Ferragamo build upon and even go beyond the artistry of his shoe. In addition to his creative and whimsical takes on ballet-inspired shoes, his reverence for the past and impact on the present grant his collection longevity and meaningful resonance. I’d love to see more beautiful Black dancers wearing Ferragamo.

Reception

Indubitably loved by the girls, the shoe and the entire collection have been received well. It Girls in the fashion industry, multi-faceted creative icon Solange Knowles, as well as stylist, influencer, and thought leader Amanda Murray have already given their cosign. Solange models the collection and readapted Opanke shoe on the cover of Harpers Bazaar Italia. Amanda, donning the shoes on her Instagram story (@amandamurray) confidently dubbed the staple piece “the shoe of the season.” Some critics called the collection unexpressive, but in this case, the girls who get it, get it. This collection is truly inspired and well-equipped for serving looks.  

See my favorite looks from the show below. 

Mia Arrington