Naomi Campbell’s Most Iconic Runway Moment Features A Shoe Trend That’s Everywhere Right Now

Whenever I have to walk down a steep set of stairs, I always need to take a step back and close my eyes before putting one foot in front of the other. I’m not necessarily afraid of heights. I’m just afraid of breaking both my arms (at once!) like I did before the first day of third grade. Long story short, I fell down a flight of stairs in my house while carrying a bottle of ketchup to dinner and wearing platform flip-flops. So a couple weeks ago, when Naomi Campbell reminded me and her other 9 million followers of one of the most iconic runway moments ever, when she fell while walking the 1993 Vivenne Westwood show in a pair of huge blue platform heels, I was triggered.

Campbell wasn’t walking down a flight of stairs and she obviously wasn’t carrying a bottle of ketchup (do supermodels even use condiments? Probably not, right?) but still, re-watching the footage makes me feel bad. Not for her, because her fall was more beautiful than most supermodels’ actual walks. But for me, the video served not only as a reminder that I’ll never be nearly as iconic, but also as a warning of what can happen when I finally do buy the platform shoes I’ve seen starting to trend again.

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The legendary Vivienne Westwood heels that Naomi Campbell wore were taller than the ceiling in my small NYC apartment. They’re the definition of editorial and certainly not something anyone would wear anywhere ever. And I can say with 100 percent certainty that no one would dare walk down a flight of stairs wearing them unless they had a death wish. But the truth of the matter is: Platforms of ridiculous proportions are definitely back right now. Except this time around they’re actually wearable.

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Last year Julia Toledano, daughter of the CEO of LVMH fashion group, launched her own made-in-Italy luxury shoe label, Nodaleto. Her designs quickly went viral on Instagram because the signature Mary Janes and go-go boots were of exaggerated proportions. The heels on a pair of Nodaleto shoes are definitely chunky but much more manageable than the Vivienne Westwood ones that made history in the ‘90s. LA-based brand Simon Miller also gained popularity due, in part, to its blackout platform sandals and high raid boots that will both easily make anyone who wears them half a foot taller. At the 2020 runways, Chloé, Tibi, and Miu Miu also debuted platform oxfords, boots, and sandals that were just high enough to intimidate you but feasible enough to actually walk in.

Campbell has been at the forefront of every trend for the past 50 years (yes, she also somehow just turned fifty). Remember in July 2019 when she shared her airplane cleaning routine featuring plastic gloves and disinfectant? And look who's laughing now. It’s not shocking that the supermodel would also remind us all how she practically foreshadowed a huge 2020 shoe trend decades ago.

And maybe right now really is the perfect time to invest in a pair of platform shoes, since we have nothing but time to practice walking in them. If we do fall, we won’t look nearly as good as Campbell. Duh. But like she wrote in the caption where she quoted Nelson Mandela, “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” Obviously that’s easier said than done when you’re not Naomi Campbell but hey, at least she’s here to show us all how it’s really done.

Shop one of the biggest shoe trends of 2020 below.