Charli XCX’s stage name dates back to her teenage years, when Charlotte Emma Aitchison used “XCX” as her MSN Messenger screen name.
Despite theories about what the letters mean, the petite English singer told Rolling Stone in 2012 that she chose them simply because they “looked cool and sounded catchy.”
Long before platform shoes became a recurring part of fashion’s Y2K revival, Charli was already wearing an unmistakably chunky pair.
Charli XCX Pairs Buffalo Classic Platform Sneakers With ’90s-Inspired Streetwear
On May 12, 2013, while touring the U.S. with Marina and the Diamonds, the British singer arrived at Lavo Nightclub in Las Vegas wearing towering Buffalo Classic platform sneakers with plaid shorts, a crop top, and a varsity jacket.
Charli XCX flashes a peace sign at Lavo Nightclub in Las Vegas on May 12, 2013, wearing dramatic winged eyeliner with her dark hair swept to one side (Credit: Joel Ginsburg / WENN / Judy Eddy / Instar / Avalon)
The Buffalo sneakers were the defining part of Charli’s Las Vegas look. Their oversized platform soles added substantial height beneath an outfit built around plaid shorts, a striped crop top, and a varsity jacket.
The combination drew heavily on the platform footwear and casual styling associated with 1990s pop fashion. Her tousled dark hair and chunky black sneakers reinforced the throwback effect without making the outfit feel like a literal costume.
Charli XCX channels ’90s pop style in Las Vegas in a cropped varsity jacket, striped crop top, plaid shorts, and towering black Buffalo Classic platform sneakers
Platform sneakers were closely associated with 1990s pop style, particularly the exaggerated footwear worn during the Spice Girls era. By the early 2010s, similarly chunky silhouettes were appearing again in celebrity wardrobes.
Charli wasn’t alone in bringing towering sneakers back into the conversation. A few months earlier, Kesha wore platform wedge sneakers during a video shoot, while Lily Allen later stepped out in Ashish x Topshop “Buffalo” platform sneakers with the same deliberately oversized, ’90s-inspired proportions.
Buffalo itself has continued to surface in celebrity wardrobes beyond its classic sneakers. In 2021, Irina Shayk wore black Buffalo x 032C thigh-high sneaker boots in New York, showing how the brand’s chunky footwear vocabulary translated from platform sneakers into an exaggerated over-the-knee silhouette.
A close-up of Charli XCX’s Buffalo Classic sneakers highlights the massive platform soles, black lace-up uppers, and glittering details that defined her 2013 footwear statement
Charli wore Buffalo Classic platform sneakers, recognizable by their exaggerated chunky soles and unmistakable ’90s silhouette. While her exact 2013 pair may be difficult to track down, Buffalo still makes versions of its signature platform sneaker.
As of August 2026, Farfetch carries the Buffalo Classic Low chunky-sole sneakers for $327, reduced from $344.
From Buffalo Platforms to Nike Shox: Charli XCX’s Shoes Keep the Volume Turned Up
Charli’s 2013 Buffalo Classics fit naturally into a footwear history that kept favoring exaggerated proportions.
By 2020, that instinct showed up at opposite ends of her wardrobe: sparkling Sophia Webster sandals with a dramatic Fendi gown at the BRIT Awards, and sculptural Comme des Garçons x Nike Shox TL sneakers with workout basics in Los Angeles.
Charli XCX pairs a black Fendi tulle gown with Bulgari jewelry and sparkling Sophia Webster sandals at the 40th BRIT Awards at The O2 Arena in London on February 18, 2020
The red-carpet look traded the bulk of her earlier platforms for a lighter, jeweled sandal, but the footwear still had enough presence to hold its own beneath Fendi’s layers of black tulle.
Charli XCX wears white Comme des Garçons x Nike Shox TL sneakers with a Nike sports bra, cycling shorts, and a pink baseball cap while out in Los Angeles on August 18, 2020
Her off-duty look returned to the chunky side of the spectrum. The white Comme des Garçons x Nike Shox TL sneakers brought an unusually sculptural sole to an otherwise simple sports-bra-and-cycling-shorts outfit, echoing the oversized footwear proportions she had embraced with Buffalo years earlier.
👟 Explore Charli XCX’s Boldest Shoes Platform Moments:
- ⭐ See Charli XCX in Stella McCartney Elyse platform creepers, pairing the silver-and-white star-cutout shoes with a pinstriped pajama set at the 2017 SESAC Pop Awards.
- 👢 Revisit Charli’s towering Vivienne Westwood platform boots from the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, where she teamed the chunky cream lace-ups with a colorful Jeremy Scott patent trench.
- 🎤 See Poppy take platform sneakers onto the red carpet in striped Comme des Garçons x Nike Cortez platforms with her unforgettable Viktor Rolf “Go To Hell” gown.
- 🌼 Revisit Miley Cyrus’s Spice Girls-inspired platform sneaker moment, pairing white River Island platforms with a wildly customized double-denim look in 2015.