Aussies ask a lot of a pair of shoes. They need to survive a summer on hot pavement and sweltering sand, a commute done mostly on foot, and a social calendar that can run from a paddock to rooftop bar in the same weekend. It's why so much of the footwear designed here starts with the most important question of all — will you still want these on at 9pm? The labels below cover the full spectrum: podiatrist-engineered boots, resoleable Chelseas, all-leather thongs handmade in Crete and, heels built for a Brownlow red carpet. Here are the best Australian shoe brands to have on your radar right now. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bared Footwear (@baredfootwear) Bared Footwear Bared exists because podiatrist Anna Baird got tired of seeing patients whose shoes were slowly wrecking their feet. She launched in Melbourne in 2008 with a biomechanical footbed built into every pair — arch support you can't see, in boots and loafers you'd buy anyway. In 2021, it became Australia's first B Corp-certified footwear label and was re-certified in 2025 with an even higher score. Good for: podiatrist-engineered arch support hidden inside styles that don't look remotely orthopedic. Size range: Women's EU 34–43, men's EU 40–50 View this post on Instagram A post shared by St. Agni (@stagnistudio) St. Agni Lara and Matt Fells started St. Agni in Byron Bay in 2014 with a small run of handwoven leather accessories, named after Lara's grandmother. Footwear followed, and the woven leather loafers and slides are still the thing people recognise it for today. It now sells through NET-A-PORTER and 90-odd international retailers, with boutiques in Byron, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Good for: woven leather flats and loafers in a neutral palette. Size range: EU 35–43, with select styles to EU 45 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Blundstone (@blundstone) Blundstone Blundstone dates itself to 1870 in Hobart, where the Blundstone family set up shop after emigrating from Derbyshire. The Cuthbertson family bought it during the Depression and still holds it. Production moved offshore in 2007, but the laceless elastic-sided boot hasn't changed much, and neither has who wears it — farmers, chefs, tradies, and everyone who has ever claimed to be one of those at a music festival. Good for: the one boot that handles a worksite, a wet paddock and the pub afterwards without a second thought. Size range: AU/UK 3–12 across the lifestyle range, unisex, with half sizes View this post on Instagram A post shared by TWOOBS (@twoobs) Twoobs Sisters Jess and Stef Dadon built a following through their blog How Two Live before launching Twoobs in Melbourne in 2016. Everything is PETA-approved vegan, with outsoles made from sugarcane-derived EVA. The brand's Byron Bay flagship opened in 2023. Good for: vegan sandals, thongs and sneakers that stay under $200. Size range: EU 35–44 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Post Sole Studio (@post_sole_studio) Post Sole Studio Breeze Powell learned to make shoes because she had to — born with one leg shorter than the other, she couldn't buy a pair that fit. She and Myra Spencer bought their former employer's shoemaking equipment rather than watch it get shipped offshore, and have been making Post Sole Studio shoes in an Abbotsford warehouse since 2014 ever since. Styles are mostly made to order, at just three to ten pairs a day. Good for: leather shoes actually made in Melbourne, with customisations if your feet need them. Size range: EU 36–46 View this post on Instagram A post shared by S E N S O (@senso) Senso Senso has been family-run since the 80s, when Scarlett and Kim Meller started it. Their daughters Alicia, Imogen and Skye came into the business in 2010 and shifted the design and social side, which is roughly when it became the label you saw on everyone. It stocks through Farfetch, David Jones and THE ICONIC, and opened a Paddington flagship in 2023. Good for: on-trend styles from heels to boots, at a price point that won't break the bank. Size range: EU 35–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Merry People (@merrypeople) Merry People Danielle Holloway grew up on a Victorian farm where gumboots were just what you wore, then spent years in a corporate job at ANZ; she started Merry People at farmers' markets in 2014 and now runs it out of Collingwood. Natural rubber outer, neoprene lining that softens to your foot over time, and enough colourways that people buy them for the school run, not just the garden. Good for: waterproof boots with actual arch support that you'd wear to brunch, or the dog park. Size range: EU 36–45, unisex, with standard and wider-fit styles View this post on Instagram A post shared by A.EMERY (@a.emery_) A.Emery Anna McLaren came from womenswear, not footwear, and taught herself shoe design on the job after launching A.Emery in Melbourne in 2017. The sandals are handcrafted in the Delhi region, the boots in Veneto, and the leather comes from Leather Working GGroup-certifiedt anneries. Good for: minimalist leather sandals with a signature squared toe. Size range: EU 35–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by ROC Boots Australia (@rocboots) ROC Boots Australia The Cull family has been in footwear since 1883 and launched ROC in 1990. Most Australians met it as a school shoe, then met it again in their twenties as the chunky leather platform and knee-high boots that keep resurfacing every few years. Good for: chunky, hard-wearing, and comfy enough to be worn daily. Size range: Women's EU 36–42 and men's EU 40–47 with half sizes, plus kids' EU 29–38 View this post on Instagram A post shared by ESSĒN, the label (@essenthelabel) ESSĒN Marre Muijs and Prue Treweeke co-founded ESSĒN in Melbourne in 2016 while both still holding down full-time jobs, starting with runs of 60 pairs. The name means essential and the model follows: about eight core silhouettes, no seasonal collections, no seasonal sales, handcrafted by family-run factories in Italy, Portugal and Spain. Each pair comes with a product passport. Good for: a small set of architectural, seasonless silhouettes — with a standing extended-size range. Size range: EU 35–44 View this post on Instagram A post shared by R.M.Williams (@rmwilliams) R.M.Williams Reginald Murray Williams learned leatherwork from Aboriginal stockman Dollar Mick Smith in the Flinders Ranges, and the two of them worked out how to cut a boot upper from a single piece of leather with no side seams. That was 1932, out in the South Australian bush. R.M.Williams still makes them at its Adelaide workshop — 88 pairs of hands per boot, Goodyear welted so you resole rather than replace. Hugh Jackman has been the face of it since 2019. Good for: a boot you'll resole for decades rather than replace, in four width fittings if you've struggled to find one that fits. Size range: Men's AU/UK 3–17 in F, G, H and X widths; women's AU 5–11 in D and E, half sizes throughout View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rollie (@rollienation) Rollie Nation Vince Lebon spent a decade designing for other people's footwear brands — including a stint at adidas in Brooklyn — before setting up a stall at South Melbourne Market in 2012 and selling 500 pairs in five weeks. The whole premise of Rollie is that lightweight, comfortable and durable were never actually mutually exclusive. It now sells through more than 500 retailers across 11 countries. Good for: genuinely featherweight sneakers, derbies and loafers for days spent entirely on your feet. Size range: Women's EU 35–43, men's EU 41–47, whole sizes only View this post on Instagram A post shared by S T U D I O A M E L I A (@studioamelia_) Studio Amelia Emily Amelia Inglis came out of the tech industry and treated Studio Amelia like a product launch when she started it in Sydney in 2019 — it hit multi-million-dollar revenue in its first year. The signature is the rope-and-cord ankle-tie sandal, cut from chrome-free sheep nappa that's soft enough to mould to your foot with wear. SSENSE and Moda Operandi both carry it. Good for: sculptural evening sandals and minimal heels in nappa that softens to your foot instead of fighting it. Size range: EU 35–41 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Noskin (@noskin.co) Noskin Noskin makes its boots in Franca, Brazil, in a factory of around 40 people turning out about 150 pairs a day. Founded in Collingwood in 2021 by Tony Corrales, Jai Long and Ash Pierce, it leads with design rather than the vegan credential — the 30mm lug-soled Chelseas and combat boots look the part first. Courtney Barnett wore them in a New York Times spread. There's a Melbourne repair counter open weekends. Good for: vegan Chelsea and combat boots that can be resoled and repaired rather than replaced, in a unisex size run. Size range: EU 35–47 unisex, with custom sizing available outside it View this post on Instagram A post shared by MARIA FARRO (@mariafarrofootwear) Maria Farro Traianos Pakioufakis spent 15 years as a fashion photographer before launching Maria Farro out of Bondi in 2018 with a straightforward idea: take the Australian thong seriously. Every pair is handmade in Chania, Crete, using traditional Cretan leather techniques, and they're 100 percent leather right down to the sole. Incu, DISSH and My Chameleon all stock them. There's a kids' line too. Good for: the thong done properly — all leather, handmade, and dressy enough to wear with something good. Size range: EU 35–43 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Radical Yes (@radicalyes) Radical Yes Kerryn Moscicki designed the first Radical Yes shoe during yoga teacher training and has run the North Melbourne label with her husband Leo since 2013. It only makes flats and low heels, on custom lasts built with extra volume through the ball and instep so toes can splay. The leathers are chosen to stretch eight to ten percent around pressure points, which is a specific thing to design for and a rare one. Good for: flats built on high-volume lasts, with a permanent wide-fit collection rather than a token one. Size range: EU 36–43, whole sizes, with a dedicated wide fit range View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lucy Damin (@itslucydamin) LMS Lisa Mandy Seskin spent a decade in Australian fashion, most recently buying womenswear for Glue Store, before launching LMS from Bondi in 2019. The formula is simple silhouettes in materials nobody else is touching — zebra, cow print, rattan, satin, knit, metallics — handmade in Guangzhou from fabrics she sources herself. Bella Hadid, Olivia Culpo and Whitney Port have all been photographed in them. Good for: statement heels and mules that carry an outfit on their own. Size range: EU 35–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by EOS FOOTWEAR (@eosfootwear) EOS Footwear David Midgley is third-generation in a shoemaking family that goes back roughly a century — his grandfather ran Australasia's biggest shoe component factory, his father designed shoe machinery, and his son, Oliver, now works alongside him. He trained in Italy before founding EOS in 1984, and still designs out of Port Melbourne on a nine-month cycle per season. Good for: soft leather boots and flats with visible natural grain. Size range: EU 36–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Edie Collective (@ediecollective) edie collective Ebanny Dwyer spent a decade in fashion PR and went vegan after interviewing Stella McCartney about leather production. She spent two years in development before edie collective launched its first collection in 2022 from Sydney. The shoes use a GRS-certified recycled vegan leather and a microfibre alternative, made by a SMETA-audited family factory, in shapes that are deliberately classic — ballet flats, loafers, kitten heels, knee-highs. Good for: vegan versions of the classics, made in low runs so they don't end up in landfill. Size range: EU 36–41 View this post on Instagram A post shared by LANA WILKINSON SHOES (@lanawilkinsonofficial) Lana Wilkinson Lana Wilkinson spent about ten years as the stylist behind Zoe Foster Blake, Rebecca Judd, Ruby Rose and Megan Gale, and became the go-to name for Brownlow and Spring Racing dressing. She launched her own label in Melbourne in 2019 with nine styles, largely because she kept not finding the shoe her clients needed. High-shine metallic leathers are the through-line. Good for: occasion heels, slingbacks and pumps designed by someone who has dressed a lot of red carpets. Size range: AU/US 5–11 (EU 35–42), half sizes on most styles View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nelson Made (@nelson.made) Nelson Made Jamie Nelson studied sculpture at Elam, hand-made shoes for Melbourne's Preston Zly, took a master's at Cordwainers in London and designed footwear for Country Road and Gorman before leaving because she found the system broken. Nelson Made is the answer — around 80 percent of the sandals are made in her solar-powered Melbourne studio, from recycled and LWG-certified leathers. Vogue named her one of 60 designers to watch. Good for: sculptural sandals and slides that come with free repairs and sizing alterations for the first two years. Size range: EU 36–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sol Sana (@solsanathelabel) Sol Sana Sara Caverley is entirely self-taught — her first job was in a suburban Sydney surf store — and she started Sol Sana in 2010. It now runs four collections a year across eight regions from Sydney and a New York design office, which is why it turns over trends faster than most on this list. David Jones, THE ICONIC and Glue Store all carry it. Good for: of-the-moment boots, heels and sandals that land quickly. Size range: EU 35–42 View this post on Instagram A post shared by AERE (@aerelabel) AERE AERE is THE ICONIC's own label, launched in 2019 as the first own-brand from parent company Global Fashion Group made entirely from more sustainable fabrications. The first season was all linen. The footwear that followed keeps the same logic — square-toe ballet flats, Mary Janes, woven leather flats and loafers, pared right back, with leather styles starting around $120. Good for: everyday flats and loafers at an everyday price point. Size range: AU 5–11 (roughly EU 36–42) FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence our recommendations, but they may earn us a small commission. For more information, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.