Aren’t You Hot In Those Boots?
- Laura Rocha
- Sep 5
- 4 min read
Biker boots ran hot in scorching temperatures, begging an essential question: will the controversial shoe take over this fall?
It’s been hot and humid and bothered in New York City. With heat waves hitting earlier in the season than usual and climate change causing record-breaking temperatures, I’ve done everything in my power to wear as little clothes as humanly possible, head to toe. The less coverage, the better. Bikini bra as a top, anyone?
However, the oppressive heat has not stopped the fashion kids from breaking out their black leather, often knee-high, platform biker boots, and hitting the ground running from DUMBO to the East Village, from Washington Square Park to the Upper East Side. Boots in this style were being sold at all levels of retail, from Shein — where I checked because unfortunately the kids still shop there — to ASOS, another popular retail outlet.
Shein’s “Womens Over The Knee Stretch Boots Chunky Block Platform Wedge Lace Up Thigh High Boots Biker Goth Punk High Heel Boots” (LOL) had a splashy graphic calling them “HOTSELLERS” and were discounted from $72.00 to $37.80. An ASOS DESIGN mid-calf option sells for $74.99, comes in three colors (black, camel, and brown), and features a buckle design on the ankle. ASOS also carried a $429.00 option from AllSaints, now sold out, which came in a taller fit and featured chunky soles and buckles at the top and bottom. Pointed toe, square toe, round toe; silver buckles, laces, side zippers; heels or platforms; in any of their variations, these boots were everywhere.
The Lower East Side vintage shop Rogue, known for its outfit breakdown videos of shopgoers on social media, featured this diva in T.U.K boots and this queen in a square-toed, slouchy Fidan Novruzova pair. The two brands featured have a higher cool-factor than ASOS and carry a certain air of fashion know-how. These iterations of the trend are the kind that can get you featured on Rogue’s Instagram or photographed by Johnny Cirillo of @watchingnewyork.
Biker boots were initially developed to prevent injuries from motorcycle accidents, making the hop to fashion when brands like Prada featured them in their collections. These Prada boots are selling on Etsy for $699, with the seller claiming they are from the FW99 collection. They were also listed on Elevated Archives for $537. While I couldn’t find clear enough photos to confirm that these boots were featured in the men’s FW99 runway show, tags like “rare find” on these online resellers present them as a highly coveted item in the secondhand market.
Another high-fashion brand that has appropriated the biker-inspired and motocross boot design, not without controversy, is, of course, Balenciaga. A pair of Biker Over-the-Knee Boots by the brand retails on Saks Fifth Avenue for $8,700, and while this pair does not feature the stiletto heels by the aforementioned Spanish luxury house critiqued in the Motorcycling outlet RideApart, they likely aren’t meant to be worn on the road.
In the Winter ‘23 collection, the brand incorporated these boots, stating in the shownotes that “The Biker Boot, a design based on motocross footwear, is seen with extreme sport detail and in monochrome.” The Balenciaga take on items like these is rarely focused on function: the boots feature stylized, pointed toes, and appear almost comically oversized around the models’ skinny legs. One look, pairing the boots with short shorts and a tight long-sleeve shirt with shoulder pads, features the boots in an outfit formula that has taken over the streets of New York: often in all-black, the eye is drawn down to the heftiness of the shoes, whose weight increases the gravitational pull of the scorching pavement, which can reach temperatures of 130°+ Fahrenheit.
Initially, the trend prevailed in Fall/Winter collections, and even in the Balenciaga 2023 show: the accessory seems to have been conceptualized for cooler temperatures. Whether brands intended this to happen or not, this style of shoe was a summer accessory this year, bleeding into the early fall that like the heat that won’t give. Undeniably, the appeal of contrasting the heavy nature of the shoes with extreme heat is the added drama.
With this in mind, what shoe trend will take over the streets as the weather cools? I’ve already spotted plenty of kitten-heel slingback shoes and mules. Perhaps, exhausted from all that coverage, a more feminine and revealing shoe will take over. I think we can expect the usual suspects of knee-high boots, Mary-Janes, loafers, dad sneakers, and clogs, with an added flavor of ballerina sneakers and flats. I expect to see more ballet flats with socks.
But it would be fabulously outrageous if peep-toe booties made a comeback. This 2010s favorite recalls times when we were all glued to our TVs watching Gossip Girl (2007-2012) and Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017). It was a wardrobe staple, along with skinny jeans and the “going out” top. Currently, it is available for purchase at retailers like Nordstrom and Macy’s, and only time will tell, but perhaps if this trend gets a lot of heat, we will be reading pieces about a new recession indicator — fitting, given the “recession indicator think piece” has become a trend in itself. 🌀
Laura Rocha-Rueda is a Colombian fashion and fiction writer based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in HALOSCOPE, Vestoj, The Inquisitive Eater, and The Territorie. She covers runway, trends, and pop culture, and will gladly chat about why dismissing these themes as frivolous is misguided and sad. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.
