The trend forecast predicts we’ll all be a little closer to the sky this year. With our heads in the clouds and high heels on our tippies, the V staff walks and talks us through the who, what, and where of this season’s most playful pumps.

“I love that Prada is for weird fashion girls with, like, frog obsessions and Ren Faire pasts. If you’re donning these lowkey yet statement-making rust-colored mules, all you need is a pair of wired headphones (playing old Grimes), a coquette baguette (meaning a baguette with a satin bow on it), a thrifted school uniform of sorts, and a copy of any Ottessa Moshfegh novel and, boom, Coppola dreamgirl.”

—Savannah Sobrevilla, Editor

“I love how glossy, classy, and audacious these are. Hypothetically, I’d save these Guccis for a last date with my very kind sugar daddy who just got to be too much, so I left him after a drink, and then went to a really nice restaurant for one last night with his credit card. Another option is to wear them with some baggy jeans.”

—Alyson Cox, Special Projects Producer

“The girls who get it, get it. The Chanel slingback is such an it-girl shoe, it needs no explaining. I can imagine buying these at 31 Rue Cambon (of course), throwing them on to match my tweed suit, and sneaking my way into Coco Chanel’s apartment above the boutique and having a little solo kiki. Once I eventually get caught by securité, handcuffed as I click-clack my way down the mirrored staircase, I’m transported to a courtroom with my crystal embellished sling-backs sparkling the whole way through—à la Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, minus the misdemeanor.”

—Kev Ponce, Digital Managing Editor

“These Dolce pumps are good for a spring wedding. One where you’re the bridesmaid who’s trying to steal the spotlight from the bride. I could see Alexa Demie’s character in Euphoria wearing them because they’re so feminine and trendy, but also a little risqué.”

—Xander Ang, Stylist & Contributing Fashion Editor

“I’m Melanie Griffith in Working Girl except instead of trying to make it in the business world, I am trying to make it as a pop star in Desperately Seeking Susan-era New York. Every morning I leave my dirtbag outer borough going- nowhere boyfriend behind, endure a long commute to the city where I slog through my coffee-fetching, phone- answering day job, dreaming of my future stardom. As the work day ends and dusk finally begins to fall I pull these classic but witty Fendi pumps out of my Chinatown tote and slip them on, getting into the groove as I head (way) downtown.”

—Lizzy Goodman, Contributing Senior Editor

“These are perfect for somewhere hot and sexy like Miami. Like, I’m at a chic dinner, eating overpriced sashimi, wearing a vintage slim-waisted constructed blazer and a flowy satin skirt with a slit, and I’m dining with the city’s hottest it-boy architect. (Did he design this restaurant? Maybe.) They’re sexy, sophisticated, and for the girl who knows who she is.”

—Jessica Rivera, Distribution & Marketing Manager

“In the 1968 sci-fi/comedy classic Barbarella, the President of planet Earth sends a sexy and glamorous space adventurer (Jane Fonda) out into the cosmos to retrieve an important scientist. I’d like to think she could wear these Louis Vuitton metallic heels in the modern day remake.”

—Mathias Rosenzweig, Digital Director & GEN V Editor-in-Chief

“These Sergio Rossi heels tell the story of an Upper East Side soccer mum who loves to dress matchy-matchy while having tea at the Plaza with her kids, but she leads a double life. On weekends, she participates in cage fights somewhere in deep Brooklyn, just to feel something. She can’t escape her style DNA so, of course, she will choose designer shoes that are matchy-matchy. In this case, she’s coordinating with the cage.”

—Gro Curtis, Fashion Director

This story appears in the pages of V147: now available for purchase!

Photography Marcus Cooper

Fashion Xander Ang

Makeup Yuki Hayashi (CLM)

Hair Edward Lampley (CLM)

Model Maria Keidj (The Lions)

Executive producer Sacha Di Bona (Savvie)

Producer Zak Riddle (Savvie)

Production designer Michael Sturgeon (Monday Artists)

Lighting and digital technician Nelson Castillo

Stylist assistants Liv Vitale, Maggie Schut

Production design assistant Zachary Tucker

Skin Retouching Misha Chubun

Location Untitled NYC