Would you consider me if I stated your option to put on flats might replicate the state of the economic system? Properly, there’s a vogue fantasy that claims precisely that. It’s known as the Excessive Heel Index—the concept when the economic system is booming, ladies gravitate towards decrease, extra sensible footwear (suppose ballet flats or kitten heels). However when the economic system takes successful, heels rise—actually. Trevor Davis, a former client merchandise professional at IBM, coined the time period greater than a decade in the past. “Often, in an financial downturn, heels go up and keep up—as shoppers flip to a extra flamboyant vogue as a way of fantasy and escape,” he defined.
At this time, we’re in a little bit of a grey space. Whereas the economic system has steered away from full-blown recession, it’s nonetheless going through a slowdown. Inflation is stubbornly excessive, the job market is shaky, and world tariffs have stirred public nervousness. “You’ve bought this financial concern from how tariffs are going to have an effect on the economic system and markets that individuals are actually battling,” Nathan Sheets, world chief economist at Citigroup, informed CNN.
If the Excessive Heel Index holds any weight, then the present runways could also be revealing extra than simply developments. The Spring/Summer time 2025 collections had been stuffed with sky-high sneakers. At Tamara Ralph, Georges Hobeika, and Chanel, fashions strutted in towering stilettos and daring platforms—seemingly proving the speculation proper. However as with most vogue myths, the story isn’t so reduce and dry. Some designers—like Christian Dior and Miu Miu—leaned into consolation, sending low block heels and flat sandals down the runway.
To dig deeper, I requested somebody who is aware of fashion in and out.
Celeb wardrobe stylist KJ Moody—whose purchasers embody Beyoncé, Kali Uchis, and Cristiano Ronaldo—doesn’t purchase into the heel-height-as-economy barometer. To him, this second isn’t about escapism or economics. It’s about autonomy.
“I believe we’ve a wave of ladies not eager to be fetishized or gawked at,” he says. “They’re the brand new era of Rosie the Riveter—opting to be extra lined, carrying decrease hemlines, fits, and flats. They’re taking again their independence and redefining what horny is.”
Nonetheless, in relation to styling his purchasers, Moody has a transparent stance: “I’ll at all times select the heel. I’m a heel-only stylist. Until you could have an damage, I’m all a few heel solely. The upper the heel, the longer your legs seem and the slimmer you look.”
As for his holy grail? “The sexiest shoe that shall be without end timeless is the Christian Louboutin So Kate 120 Pump. I believe each girl wants it in her wardrobe.”
