My heart skips a beat as Balenciaga says goodbye to sky-high platforms. The brand’s Fall 2011 features a pointy-toed multi-strap Mary Jane stilettos finished with the hand-painting and rococo details extended all the way to the soles.

In Ghesquière’s words, “The season is a game of proportion, zooming in on textures, the way seeing things with a loop [a magnifying glass] can give you different, shifting points of view. It’s a bit surrealist.”

The shoes from this collection fall into two divisions:

• Buckled pumps in tonal exotics on suede – a very wearable version that doesn’t let its sexiness overtake the design’s mood entirely: the kind of thing you can wear to work but also out to dinner afterward.
• Zip-back ankle booties with parallel straps covering the top of the foot, which is slightly more avant-garde complete with a patterned update for fall.

Elegant and effortless, I have no doubt this collection will be a resounding success.

by Olga Titarenko