From Kate Moss to Sienna Miller, This "Dated" Boot Trend Is Back Like It Never Left
It's officially boot season, and this year, there's one divisive style back on the lips (and feet) of the fashion set. Scroll to see why buckle boots are a hot topic again.
If the clocks going back wasn't enough of a signifier, the moody grey skies and pitter-patter of rain should tell you that winter is around the corner, and with it comes boot season. If, for some reason, you still haven't shelved the sandals and soft ballet flats you wore throughout the summer, now is the time (that is, unless you like having wet toes). If the feet of the fashion set are anything to go by, Captain Hook-coded buckle boots are back as a key shoe trend for winter 2026, and it's a look as practical as it is punchy.
Slimmer than your run-of-the-mill biker boot but just as heavily adorned, the new buckle boot is proof that the best trends (especially shoe trends) are reinvented relics. In fact, when these boots came storming down Miu Miu's 1940s-inspired autumn/winter 2025 runway alongside joyous plaid midi skirts, XXL wool coats and sumptuous faux-fur shawls, there was something about the silhouette that felt eerily familiar. And for us Brits, perhaps a little indie sleaze-y.
For those who may be slightly too young to remember, the contemporary style started gaining traction in the 1980s. Debuting during Vivienne Westwood’s first (and now iconic) autumn/winter 1981 collection, named "Pirate", the specific boots that were showcased are now arguably some of the most infamous to exist. Not only did the collection shatter every rigid tailoring rule in the book and kick-start the New Romantic era, but it birthed the buckle boot.
Think back to Kate Moss' iconic parka-and-boot pairing at the turn of the millennium, or Sienna Miller walking her dog in a peacoat and skinny jeans. Noughties It girls practically lived in the trend, anchoring buckle boots as part of the Y2K fashion canon. Fast-forward two decades and the aesthetic loop has officially closed.
Last year, HAIM paid homage to the 2001 paparazzi shot of a buckle-boot-wearing Kate leaning against a car and basking in the sun for the cover of their 2025 single “Everybody’s trying to figure me out”, in which Danielle Haim wears the same pair of Westwood boots. Meanwhile, on the autumn/winter 2026 runways, slouchy, hardware-heavy boots dominated. But this time around, from Dior to Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Auralee, the new buckle boots felt almost Victorian-inspired, more "ladylike" than grounded in biker grit.
Playful, fun and a less-than-subtle nod to nostalgia, buckle boots are certainly making a compelling case for breaking up the sleek, minimalist footwear options in your rotation this winter, whether worn over straight-leg jeans or on full display with a miniskirt. Scroll to shop the best pairs on the market.
Shop the Buckle-Boot Trend
