Bernadette’s new shoe line
Courtesy of Bernadette
Bernadette is all about putting its best foot forward.
Starting Saturday, the Antwerp-based label known for sleek yet sumptuous silk dresses will offer shoes to match.
It’s an extension that came naturally as mother-daughter design duo Bernadette and Charlotte de Geyter began thinking about staging their first show for the fall 2025 collection. “You start to think much more about the accessories, the full look and the whole story,” Charlotte de Geyter told WWD.
To match the season’s boudoir-inspired snapshot of a woman taking a moment for herself, the duo distilled lingerie notes across low-heeled and flat designs, offered in soft pastel satins in tones of pink, yellow or green. Minute bows and flowers are used as adornment, while other versions feature embroideries, which de Geyter deemed “another way of showing prints.”
Elongated sleek shapes gently taper forward, and de Geyter described them as “very modern” and meant to elongate the foot.
It’s also what fits the Bernadette style vernacular. “We have a lot of dresses that are very long and very voluminous,” Charlotte de Geyter said. “So we like that the little tip peeps out from underneath the dress, and it’s a little nice detail.”
The mother-daughter duo intend for their footwear to transition from boardroom to ballroom — and to get from one to the other. The shoes feature a 4.5cm heel and there’s a flat option, too.
“The Bernadette woman always likes to be comfortable, she likes pockets in her clothes, she wants a low heel or even a flat so that she can walk a few kilometers,” she continued. “We’re from Antwerp, so we walk a lot.”
But their reflection was as much about what would match with the fall season as it was about fitting footwear into the brand’s six-year narrative. To that end, they will be introducing a classics line, which will span silk satin and leather versions.
“For each collection, we will have the satins come back in the colors of that season,” de Geyer said. “And [alongside] that, we will continue to work on the shapes and develop little alterations that fit the newest collections.”
This step-by-step approach is one the de Geyters have applied since launching the brand in 2018. They have expanded into home and bridal, and also added items like a raffia bag this summer — introduced after clients saw the younger de Geyter pair one she bought on a market with her Bernadette looks.
Their strategy served them well: In 2024, the brand said wholesale accounted for around 70 percent of the business with 94 doors globally such as Le Bon Marché, while its own e-commerce is also growing strongly, doubling year-on-year.
Bernadette’s new shoe line
Courtesy of Bernadette
While the company does not disclose sales figures, de Geyter said steady growth had continued and the focus now was “making the brand more 360.”
Made in Italy, the inaugural footwear lineup will be available exclusively on the Bernadette e-commerce site. It’s priced between 690 euros for the classics in silk satin and leathers, and up to 990 euros for the embroidered silk satin heels. Patent leather flats with lingerie details retail for 790 euros.