Rihanna’s Paris Fashion Week Shoe Journal: 5 Days of Brogues, Louboutins, and Stilettos

During Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014, Rihanna moved between some of the week’s biggest shows in a run of dramatically different looks, pairing Lanvin menswear with polished brogues, Balmain layers with intricate Christian Louboutin heels, and Dior eveningwear with ankle-strap d’Orsay pumps.

From February 27 through March 1, 2014, in Paris, her front-row wardrobe shifted from tailored trousers and structured outerwear to sheer lace, leather, statement fur, and sharply pointed heels. The variety made the footwear particularly interesting: rather than relying on one signature silhouette, Rihanna alternated between masculine flats and elaborate lace-up and ankle-strap pumps.

At 5’8″ (172.7 cm), Rihanna hardly needed heels for extra stature. Across these appearances, her shoes served more as tools to change the proportions and mood of each outfit, from low brogues with menswear tailoring to stilettos with more elaborate evening looks.

Lanvin: Rihanna Grounds Gray Menswear With Glossy Black Brogues

Rihanna mixes menswear tailoring with a gray fur stole, camel fedora, and black brogues for the Lanvin Fall 2014 show in Paris on February 27, 2014 (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

For the Lanvin show on February 27, Rihanna chose a menswear-inspired look from the house’s Pre-Fall 2014 collection. Gray pleated trousers and a deconstructed jacket established the tailored silhouette, while a camel fedora and oversized gray fur stole softened its otherwise masculine lines.

The shoes reinforced that contrast. Instead of adding heels, Rihanna wore glossy black brogues, allowing the footwear to continue the tailoring story rather than compete with the voluminous fur. Broguing refers to the decorative perforations on a shoe rather than a particular lacing system, which is why brogues can overlap with Oxford and Derby constructions.

Rihanna’s glossy black brogues bring a menswear finish to her cropped gray Lanvin trousers at the Fall 2014 show (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

It wasn’t the first time Rihanna had paired tailoring with traditionally masculine footwear. In 2010, she wore an A.L.C. cropped pantsuit with studded Miu Miu Oxfords, another example of her using embellished lace-ups in place of conventional heels.

A camel fedora and oversized gray fur stole add texture and volume to Rihanna’s tailored Lanvin look in Paris (Credit: Audrey Poree / Abaca / Startraksphoto)

Balmain: Utility-Inspired Layers Meet Christian Louboutin Impera Pumps

Rihanna changed direction again for Balmain, first appearing in an olive-green layered look built around leather and utilitarian-inspired outerwear. The deep neckline and thigh-high slit contrasted with the jacket’s heavier proportions, while her footwear added a much more delicate element to the outfit.

She paired the look with Christian Louboutin “Impera” pumps from Spring 2014. The pointed stilettos feature intricate laser-cut leather, clear inserts, scalloped edges, lace-up vamps, ankle ties, and the designer’s signature red soles.

Rihanna pairs an olive-green Balmain ensemble with intricate Christian Louboutin Impera pumps in Paris on February 27, 2014 (Credit: INFphoto)

The Impera’s delicate cutouts and slender heel deliberately contrast with Balmain’s heavier layers. The style also reflects Christian Louboutin’s approach to statement footwear, combining a sharply pointed silhouette with decorative details and the instantly recognizable lacquered red sole.

Christian Louboutin produced the Impera in several finishes, including the nude and black versions shown below.

Christian Louboutin Impera pumps in nude patent leather from the Spring 2014 collection

Christian Louboutin Impera pumps in black patent leather with laser-cut detailing, pointed toes, and ankle ties

For the Balmain after-party, Rihanna changed into a sheer black bodysuit with a high-waisted black leather skirt, swapping the presentation’s layered, utility-inspired styling for a more revealing monochrome look.

Dior: Ankle-Strap d’Orsay Pumps Sharpen a Red-and-Black Look

At Christian Dior on February 28, Rihanna shifted to a sharper red-and-black palette, wearing a black mini dress beneath a vivid red coat. She accessorized with Dior So Real sunglasses, a pearl-accented necklace, sheer thigh-high stockings, and black ankle-strap pumps.

Rihanna contrasts a black Dior mini dress with a vivid red coat for the Christian Dior Fall 2014 show in Paris on February 28, 2014 (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

Her black ankle-strap d’Orsay pumps were especially effective with the hosiery. The pointed toes and high ankle straps continued the outfit’s dark lines, while the open sides of the shoes kept them visually lighter beneath the oversized red coat.

Rihanna completes her red-and-black Dior look with Wolford thigh-high stockings and pointed black ankle-strap d’Orsay pumps (Credit: INFphoto)

The pointed d’Orsay design featured sharply cut sides and a wide strap positioned high around the ankle, a silhouette also seen in Dior’s collections from this period:

Black ankle-strap d’Orsay pumps styled with a beaded dress in Dior’s Pre-Fall 2014 collection

Jean Paul Gaultier: Sheer Lace and an Oversized Fur Wrap

At Jean Paul Gaultier on March 1, Rihanna continued the week’s play between fitted and oversized pieces, wearing a sheer black lace top with high-waisted black trousers and a substantial black-and-white fur wrap.

Rihanna pairs sheer black lace and tailored trousers with a dramatic black-and-white fur wrap at the Jean Paul Gaultier show on March 1, 2014 (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

The oversized wrap became the focal point of the otherwise all-black outfit, continuing the statement-fur theme that appeared repeatedly throughout her Paris wardrobe.

Rihanna’s sheer lace top and tailored trousers are offset by an oversized black-and-white fur wrap at Jean Paul Gaultier (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

Comme des Garçons: Oversized Fur Meets Pointed Manolo Blahnik Pumps

Statement fur became a recurring thread connecting Rihanna’s Paris Fashion Week looks. After the gray Lanvin stole and black-and-white Gaultier wrap, she returned to the idea at Comme des Garçons, this time combining oversized outerwear with an exaggerated Adam Selman hat and pointed Manolo Blahnik Lara ankle-strap pumps.

Rihanna balances oversized outerwear and an Adam Selman hat with pointed Manolo Blahnik Lara ankle-strap pumps at Comme des Garçons on March 1, 2014 (Credit: SIPA / WENN)

The narrow pumps offered a sleek counterpoint to all that volume. Rihanna’s association with Manolo Blahnik would eventually extend beyond wearing his shoes: the pair collaborated on their own footwear collection in 2016.

Across these Paris looks, oversized fur repeatedly changed the proportions of otherwise streamlined outfits. Rihanna balanced that volume with cleaner footwear, from Lanvin brogues to Manolo Blahnik’s pointed Lara pumps.

Rihanna’s Shoe Style Beyond Paris Fashion Week

Rihanna’s Fall/Winter 2014 Paris appearances captured just one stretch of a much longer relationship with statement footwear. Across fashion weeks, red carpets, parties, and the Met Gala, she has moved easily between barely-there sandals, pointed pumps, lace-up stilettos, boots, and sneakers—often using the shoes to sharpen an experimental outfit or provide a quieter counterpoint to dramatic clothes.

The looks below trace that range across different eras, from metallic Tom Ford sandals and Versace Medusa heels to Manolo Blahnik lace-ups and custom Gianvito Rossi stilettos.