After years of rocking statement boots, Mary J. Blige finally has her own namesake style.
Blige, 53, joined forces with Italian fashion house Giuseppe Zanotti on a limited-edition collaboration named The Mary Boot. The over-the-knee silhouette comes in a striking gold chrome colorway, features a scrunch-like look, a pointed toe and a block heel. The item is available for purchase at GiuseppeZanotti.com and retails for $1,295.
Blige announced the shoe via Instagram on Sunday, May 12, amid her Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in New York City. (Blige launched the event — the title of which comes from her 2017 album of the same name — in 2022 with the goal of inspiring and creating opportunities for women and underrepresented groups.)
Fans praised Blige’s Giuseppe collaboration, calling it “iconic” and “well-deserved.”
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“We’ve been waiting for a boot drop forrrrrrrreeeevvvvrrrr,” one fan wrote as another gushed, “ABOUT DAMN TIME.”
Others took the moment to criticize Blige for not offering more affordable options for her “day-one fans.”
“Finally a boot launch. However … Giussepe’s target audience and Mary’s fan base are not the same group of people. Great idea but HUGE miss,” read a third comment.
Blige has become synonymous with over-the-knee boots, rocking the style on stages and red carpets.
At the 2018 Met Gala, which featured the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” theme, Blige wore custom gold-embroidered Versace boots that complemented her floor-length gown that featured metallic beading and sky blue pleated fabric. (That year, she was styled by Law Roach, who said he wanted her to look like a “warrior princess.”)
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When she received the Icon Award at the Urban One Honors in January, she took the stage in a fitted black gown teamed with shiny, thigh-high boots. At the 2023 Strength of a Woman Summit, Blige wore slouchy, denim over-the-knee boots by Balenciaga with a matching logo-adorned romper.
In 2011, she revealed that her go-to boots were a “really comfortable” pair of Dior shoes. “The heel is amazing and not super-high in step so you don’t walk like you’re bending over,” she told the Huffington Post.
