There are still pretty shoes out there…

Jennifer Chamandi graduated in economics and, some years later, as you do, found herself designing a shoe so subtly original that it has just received a patent. Dubbed the Eye of the Needle, each heel has a teeny hole bored through it. Not just decorative, it allows a skinny strap to be looped in place around the ankle, securing the shoe to the foot.

If I’ve made her journey from money to footwear sound random, it was, in fact, premeditated. As well as studying at Cordwainers College and Central St Martins, she enrolled in Italian classes so that she’d be able to communicate with Italian factories.

Innate elegance, with an eye for balance and an insistence on (a degree of) comfort mark her out as a designer who’s already noteworthy for eyecatching shoes that are different for a reason, not just for the sake of it.

From £470, farfetch.com.

By Far

Founded in Bulgaria in 2016, By Far has established itself as a go-to for classic style filtered through a knowing, modern eye.

Its bestselling square-fronted slingback, for instance, has an exaggerated chunkiness that lends it a subtle quirkiness. Comfy too.

Handmade in a family-run factory, they’re pretty good value for premium leathers. Look out for their ecofriendly capsule collections.

From £325, net-a-porter.com and antibadstore.com.

Neous

Made in Italy and designed in London by Alan Buanne and Vanissa Antonious, Neous is one of the fastest-selling new shoe brands on net-

a-porter, thanks to innovative shapes that are utterly distinctive. Neous was one of the first shoe labels to challenge the orthodox heel shape: its two-tone sphere heels, made from acrylic and wood, ought to make them sitting-only-shoes, but at 55mm high, they’re surprisingly comfortable and weight-supportive.

Last year, its high-fronted pumps with contrast coloured cone heels were the big hit. This year, it will be the woven leather slingbacks and some edgily elegant ankle boots. From £385 for mules, prices are high but, in the world of luxury, not extortionate; neous.com.

Malone Souliers

Launched in London in 2014 with an admirably distinctive feature – two bands across the foot – Malone Souliers has enjoyed phenomenal success and the concomitant copying.

This season it launches a bespoke line that offers customers an even wider choice of colours and leathers. The number of possible permutations is so hard to calculate that it didn’t bother, preferring to focus on a service that is hugely enjoyable (and, for the indecisive, will mock up various versions on its computer so that you can pick at leisure).

Try ripping those off, high street. Takes four to six weeks. From £395, shop.malonesouliers.com.

Aeydē

A small Berlin-based label founded three years ago by Luisa Krogmann and Constantin Langholz-baikousis, Ayede’s Italian-made shoes offer excellent value.

As well as subtle, contemporary designs, its focus is on quality: the dash in the logo represents the hand-sewn signature stitch on every ayede shoe, which it says symbolises its commitment to excellence.

From £165, aeyde.com.

Sole Bliss

With patent pending technology, these shoes offer genuine comfort and fashion intelligence to all those bunion/wide foot/burning pads victims out there.

That would be most of us, then. From £149, solebliss.com.