Brand: Sandy Liang
Season: Spring/Summer 2023
Buy: Online at Sandy Liang's website
Editor's Notes: Sandy Liang, the epitome of effortless downtown cool, just launched footwear. The New York City-based designer, beloved for her playful fleece jackets, stakes her claim in the shoe game with a timeless classic: the ballet flat.
Liang renders the forever-chic shoe in pink, chocolate brown, and black satin. For those in search of a hardier take on the flat, Liang also offers a leather version. With an ankle strap and a subtly boxy toe, the design is part prima ballerina, part Mary Jane — hence its official name, the Mary Jane Pointe.
Inspired by a formative trip to the ballet, Liang's dainty design was two years in the making. "I feel like balletcore isn’t a trend, it’s like a forever beautiful thing," she said over e-mail. "It was important to create something that can be a part of the collection for a long time."
Liang said it best: the beauty of ballet is enduring. Proof of its appeal is apparent in culture old and new, from the work of Edgar Degas to Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan to Miu Miu's Fall/Winter 2022 collection.
You heard it here first: this summer, catch all the cool kids hanging out at the ballet.
