This season, though, it was heartening to see some favourite categories returning, not least the futurist, retro sci-fi model, with floral trimmings. A transparent heel, filled with liquid, in which float metallic flowers. A veritable cornucopia of the same, with the addition of fruit, tacked onto the clear plastic bridge of a sandal. For years shoes appeared to be on a downward slide, the exuberant experimentation of the past having fallen prey to a newly discovered conservatism. Now, though, the world looks a little better, a tad less grey.
Spring is here.
And it's on a High Street near you.