The Coolest Boots to Ever Grace the Red Carpet

You'd be hard-pressed to find better shoes than on a red carpet. But when celebrities ditch their pumps and flats for statement-making boots and booties, the effect can be breathtaking. Whether A-listers are (somehow) walking in the most towering platforms we've ever seen—think eight inches, minimum—or a bold patterned boot, it's a perfect expression of "wrong shoe theory" (an unusual shoe elevating and completing a look). Ahead, the coolest boots seen on red carpets.

Timothée Chalamet

Timothée Chalamet is never boring when he hits the red carpet, and he never skips the accessory (which is one of the reasons he's such a fashion force). This is the Bones & All premiere at the BFI London Film Festival (2022); Chalamet plays a dark, complicated character so his white suit and lug, square-toed boots also offer a nice contrast.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift will break out some daring footwear depending on the context, and this (the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards) is the perfect context for it. Swift likes to play with bold accessories—look at those gloves!—but what's nice is that the boots also offer more coverage over the knee.

David Furnish

Who says women get to have all the fun? Here attending the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party in 2015, David Furnish breaks out a stylish pair of gold shoes. This was before the "daring men's fashion red carpet look" had reached mainstream in the U.S., so the gorgeous metallic touch was a nice surprise.

Tang Wei

Take a gorgeous two-toned gown (this is at the Decision To Leave (Heojil Kyolshim) screening at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival) and add a pair of extremely casual lace-up boots, and you've got a brilliant contrast in tone. Cannes is the place to be daring, and Tang Wei takes it there.

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller has excellent style, both in red carpet outfits and street style (which can be hard to pull off). That's because she has a cohesive aesthetic—polished with a vintage feel. She's evolved her boho-chic style to include slouchy boots like this in amongst her lacy, delicate pieces.

Andra Day

This gorgeous, tie-dye-esque boots on Andra Day (this is at the The Deliverance premiere in 2024) is part of a complete head-to-toe outfit. This is why footwear is so important; the look would be great with black shoes, but keeping the color story going adds so much more.

Madonna

Madonna is always pushing the envelope, and that includes in her footwear. This is at the The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years premiere, and the music icon is wearing wildly tall booties. The '10s saw some sky-high stilettos, but Madonna is (as ever) going farther than anyone else.

Kim Petras

Kim Petras, German singer-songwriter, is wearing some of the best bedazzled booties the Met Gala has ever seen. (The theme was "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," and the black-and-white was very thematic for the evening.) The high hemline lets these wearable works of art steal the show.

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart, who is a Chanel ambassador, finds creative and interesting ways to style the delicate pieces. This is at the She Came to Me premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and the lace-up black and white shoes are a nice "wrong shoe" choice (compared with, say, a black pump).

Laura Whitmore

I'm sorry, but these shiny over-the-knee boots are just iconic. Like with other tall boots on this list, the effect is both daring and also full coverage, with a small sliver of skin between the top of the boot and the bottom of the dress. Honestly, this would be a great party look.

Gemma Chan

It's actually a little unusual for Gemma Chan to break out boots on the red carpet (she often favors a high heel), so when she does it feels special. Like a lot of her choices, these metal-toed sock boots give just that extra little bit of surprise and character.

Janelle Monáe

When Janelle Monáe hits the red carpet, it's often in her graphic, black and white style, and it's never ever boring. These two-toned boots are exactly her style, and they give a little visual interest at the bottom of the look so it feels cohesive. Also, how cute would these be with jeans, too?

Taylor Swift

Even when she's going for a more formal dress (this is at the 2019 American Music Awards), Taylor Swift loves a surprise boot. The gorgeous green gown is already a standout, but the over-the-knee sock boot continues the look and makes it feel more streamlined.

Folake Olowofoyeku

Aside from being potentially hard to walk in, these gorgeous brown platform stilettos are pretty perfect. It looks like they're Rick Owens, and the clear block heel in the back plus the ridged contrasting at the front makes it look futuristic and daring.

Heather Graham

This is at the premiere of Sherlock Holmes in London in 2009, and the choice of white tie-up booties with black buttons is a nice surprise on Heather Graham. It also feels quite vintage (which, if you think about it, makes sense with the theme of the movie).

Billy Porter

Billy Porter has amazing taste in footwear on the red carpet (this is the 2020 Grammys). Actually he has amazing, creative taste, period—the shade on his hat opens and closes! The pants and shoes continue the theme, and the silver boots are custom Coach with over 9,000 crystals.

Mary J. Blige

This feels very Michelangelo-inspired (Mary J. Blige is at the 2018 Met Gala, and she's dressing to the theme "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination"). They're custom-made Versace, and they're delicate while still in keeping with Blige's signature style.

Michelle Yeoh

This, at the 2023 Met Gala ("Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty") allowed Michelle Yeoh to break out these glamorous, chain adorned platform boots. The outfit was designed by Karl Lagerfeld Couture, and the pointed toe at the front of the boot is gorgeous and almost architectural.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has given us a multitude of great boots over the years (including platforms literally covered in meat, if you'll recall), but she channeled classic Gaga at the House of Gucci premiere in 2021. This look is—no surprise—Gucci, and she walked in these huuuuge sparkly stilettos with surprising ease.

Victoria Beckham

Since her Spice Girl days, Victoria Beckham has blessed us with long heeled boots. This is at the "Le Chouchou" Jacquemus' Fashion Show in 2023 at Versailles, France. These blue peep-toe boots are actually thigh-high, and are a wildly creative choice for the middle of summer.

Josh O'Connor

Any celeb who opts out of a plan black shoe with their suit is doing something cool. Josh O'Connor, at the "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" Met Gala in 2024, is thematic in floral Loewe boots. His character on The Crown, Prince Charles, would be shocked!

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X has blessed us with many a red carpet boot over the course of his career. But I just really love the motorcycle look at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards—what's particularly awesome about it is that Nas entered the red carpet with the visor of his helmet down, so no one had any idea who it was at first.

Rihanna

Technically this is not a red carpet (although one could argue Rihanna makes the whole world her red carpet). But it's impossible to skip over her footwear style—these gorgeous, slouchy, side-buttoned white boots are such a cool choice that it's perfectly her.

Cardi B

Cardi B has couture style, but she's always making daring choices that elevate the pieces to her one-of-a-kind look. These white Marc Jacob platforms (she's outside the 2024 Marc Jacobs show) look wildly difficult to walk in, but she's making it look easy.

Miley Cyrus

While the top part of this outfit on Miley Cyrus is highly not safe for work (think: straps as a top), the boots are absolutely divine. This was at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, and Cyrus was still in her "daring and over-the-top" phase of fashion.

Lizzo

Lizzo is dripping in pearls at the 2023 Met Gala ("Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty"), and naturally her shoes continue the theme. Like the rest of her look, these are Chanel, and they're adorned with the silver metal “CC” logo denoting the brand. I have massive shoe envy.

Dan Levy

Dan Levy explained on social media that his floral Loewe shoes at the 2021 Met Gala ("In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion") was originally a pair he'd "scoured the internet" for circa 2010. He called it a "full circle moment" to have Jonathan Anderson remake them for him.

Hunter Schafer

Here attending the premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes, Hunter Schafer is wearing the most gorgeous, semi-sheer, pin heeled, bedazzled booties. They're from the Alexander McQueen PreAW23 collection, and they match her dress to perfection.

Billy Porter

Billy Porter, red carpet legend, accessorized his gorgeous pink gown for the 2023 Golden Globes with studded silver platform booties. These are Jimmy Choo and—in keeping with Porter's style—covered in crystals with a chunky block heel. It's a gorgeous contrast.

Kendall Jenner

Holy platform! Kendall Jenner is every bit a supermodel, looking like she's floating up the Met Gala stairs (while the rest of us would immediately take a tumble). The theme was "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty," and these Marc Jacobs boots are over eight INCHES high!

Lil Nas X

I just love these pearl-encrusted platform boots on Lil Nas X. This is the 2022 Grammys, and the whole look is stunning (it's custom Balmain, and it's adorned with pearls and crystals everywhere you look). But the shoes feel like the perfect modern touch, and—dare I say it—totally rewearable?

Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe had a heck of a look at the 2023 Met Gala ("Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty")—it was multi-stage, with a jacket and corset over top of a black bra and underwear. But these absolutely towering combat boots, by Thom Browne, were massive and cool and instantly iconic.