IN STEP

Margaux Anbouba plays footsie with the final frontier of vintage shopping: shoes.

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In 2012, Miuccia Prada sent a pair of Mary Janes down the runway so sweetly perverse that they sent a chill up my 21-year-old spine. While the design of the shoe itself shiny black leather, with a heel arched like a back-was both elegant and exquisite, it was the final touch that thrilled me: The toe box appeared to be dipped in red latex.

Late last year, when I traveled to Milan for Prada's spring 2025 show to cover the beauty backstage, my eyes began to wander during the encore walk, and ecco: My dream shoes-last seen on the fall 2012 ready-to-wear runway-were reborn. In fact, five different designs from the house (aside from my beloved Mary Janes, there were geek-chic sandals, pointy-toe heels, zippy kitten heels from 2008, and platform penny loafers from spring '99) were given what Prada called the Re-Edition treatment in a show that paid tribute to Mrs. Prada's idiosyncratic yet always spot-on style. Sadly, not all of them made it from the runway to real life-including my Mary Janes which meant that, 12 years after I first put eyes on them, I would have to hunt down some of the originals if I wanted to have a pair of my own.