I’m Fighting the Winter Blues—7 Shoe Colour Trends to See Me Into 2026

With winter well and truly underway and the festive season fast approaching, I’ve been desperately trying to stop the grey days from getting me down. Although the season is often associated with a darker palette, this year, I’m trying to inject some joy into my wardrobe and thus, my step. From cashmere cardigans in pretty pops of pink to cosy chocolate suede bags, my winter wardrobe has become a medley of soft yet spirited colour. But now that my knitwear rotation is up to date and my denim selection has been refined, my attention has turned to the final part of my wardrobe in desperate need of a little colour: my shoes.

As someone who leans into vibrant colours and playful textures all year round, I was disappointed to realise that my winter shoe collection was looking, well… a touch dull. Don’t get me wrong: the minimalist in me still covets a beautifully simple pair of neutral-toned shoes that will easily go with everything, but sometimes these classic shades don’t always deliver the lift I’m after.

As the end of the year fast approaches, I find myself looking ahead, and as a fashion editor who is extremely diligent when investing in my wardrobe, any shoe colours I choose now need to transition through the years. Fortunately, the autumn/winter 2025 runways provide no shortage of inspiration. From knee-high pirate boots in a delicious peanut butter at Miu Miu, to brilliant Bordeaux splashed across faux-fur knee-high boots at Elie Saab, this season's shows offered a feast of covetable colour across footwear.

Likewise, the high street followed suit with plenty of stylish shoes in dopamine-infused palettes, as well as some old-favourite neutrals in new textures and fabrics (like shiny black vinyl, a subtle upgrade from plain black leather). So, whether you’re here to decode the trends or ready to invest in some joy-inducing shoes this winter, I’ve researched the runways for you, and these are the seven shoe colour trends I think will be biggest in winter 2025.

The 7 Best Winter Shoe Colour Trends of 2025:

1. Brilliant Bordeaux

Style Notes: ICYMI, burgundy is back—and in a big way. Elegant, timeless and more wearable than we initially assumed, pieces saturated in this rich shade have been slowly seeping into the winter wardrobes of many of my favourite fashion people for some time now. Elie Saab showcased the hue in a colour-drenched fashion, whilst Rabanne paired it with modern wet-look leggings and Stella McCartney styled it with a grey cable-knit cardi reminiscent of Elphaba’s in Wicked: For Good, each proving that this deep, wine-toned shade might be the season’s most versatile.

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2. Peanut Butter

Style Notes: Since Chemena Kamali debuted in spring/summer 2023 as Chloé’s creative director, signalling a boho renaissance, shades of brown have swept the fashion set with full force. Yet, in winter 2025, it’s a paler shade that I think is about to take off. From Miu Miu to Louis Vuitton, I noticed a few designers make a case for not chocolate, not a reddish, mid-brown, but a lighter, almost peanut butter shade of tan.

Fast forward to just last week, I saw ultimate It girl Alexa Chung wearing the Miu Miu boots, and that confirmed it: these boots—and specifically this nutty shade of brown—would make an impact. As ever, the queen of cool styled hers to perfection, pairing the tall style with a knee-length skirt and a pinstripe jumper. Chic!

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3. Chartreuse

Style Notes: After Charli XCX’s Brat Girl Summer of 2024, I thought we might be done with lime-green shades. But when Hailey Bieber stepped out in a chartreuse Pucci set this summer, somewhere along the sun-soaked coastline of the South of France, my fashion editor's antenna went straight up. Chartreuse can veer into slightly sickly yellow territory, yet on her, the shade looked impossibly dreamy, and her colour-block styling had an innate cool-girl je ne sais quoi that simply can’t be engineered. Could this be 2025’s elevated answer to Brat Green? Perhaps.

So when Tom Ford showed the same hue on the runway for A/W 25, rendered in luxurious, liquid satin that felt both elegant and slick, I knew this citrus shade wasn’t just a fleeting summer romance, but a colour to watch for the upcoming year. Perfect for both summer and winter, the shade offset Ford’s monochromatics with ease and made the looks feel wholly wearable and truly elevated.

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4. Back to Black

Style Notes: It goes without saying that black shoes will forever rank as one of the savviest footwear investments. However, this winter, I’m craving the midnight hue drenched in high-shine vinyl. Creating vibrant visual interest, designers from Saint Laurent to Prada have proven just how versatile this glossy colour can be, paired with everything from cigarette jeans and a statement red jumper to a navy satin funnel-neck coat, in a play which feels undeniably opulent and richly modern.

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5. Roaring Red

Style Notes: Much like burgundy, red has reigned supreme as one of the colours of the year. From crimson flip-flops in summer courtesy of The Row, to accent cardis in the spring worn by French women, fashion folk have been vehemently proving that this shade works again and again. However, it's how the shade is being worn in a shoes-and-tights (or-socks) combo that has captured the attention of those on my feed. Drawing the eye south, it’s a simple way to make a statement.

With an innate French feel, I’ll be taking prompts from well-dressed Parisians and offsetting a black minidress with a red-shoe-and-tight combo to add a slash of visual interest and sprinkle a festive cheer into my look.

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6. Distressed Brown

Style Notes: Lately, I’ve noticed the arrival of distressed brown as an emerging colour trend. Though it may feel like the hue has snuck up on us, its return has been in motion for some time. When Miu Miu released its knee-high biker boots in spring/summer 2023, style insiders became instantly enamoured by the washed-black pair, largely overlooking the battered, grungy hue that accompanied them. Yet the tide began to turn when Prada gave us razor-sharp pointed-toe heels in its autumn/winter 2025 collection, their weathered-brown finish fast became their trademark, and as such the shoes have become top of many editor, stylist and influencer wish lists.

But for me, the true tipping point to loving this weathered effect came courtesy of Elsa Hosk, the It-girl extraordinaire, who championed it throughout the summer. Styling distressed brown boots with everything from straight-leg denim to minimalist miniskirts, she showcased the effortless versatility of the tone, proving it has the power to anchor both off-duty and elevated looks with a cooler feel.

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7. Luxe-Looking Lavender

Style Notes: Although you wouldn’t usually associate pastels with winter, I did notice a few surprisingly soft petal hues this season. From baby blue to pretty pink and even this lilac shade, it feels genuinely fresh to see something other than black, white and burgundy at this time of year. Designers such as ArdAzAei and Zomer, for example, used this pretty shade to break up monochromatic looks, and you can too! With an expensive feel in satin fabric, this gentle shade feels like a fail-safe way to keep the winter grey at bay.

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