The show burst onto the cultural scene when I was a teenager, and its ubiquity meant that for many girls of my generation, glamorous womanhood became indelibly linked to high-heel wearing. We saved up our money to buy stilettos for student parties, and bought even more pairs to wear for our first jobs, convinced that tottering into the office gave us an aura of gravitas. Always with us, like an adult security blanket, were a pair of battered ballet flats for when the pain became unbearable. 

But then the generation below me came out into the world and made it clear that feeling comfortable was as important as looking good. Watching And Just Like That post-lockdown has made me realise all over again just how right they were – mostly because nobody should ever equate confidence with sore feet.

“I think for Gen Z at least, this shift is here to stay,” says Mary-Leigh Bliss, the chief content officer at Ypulse, a youth marketing research firm in New York. “Just anecdotally I can say that going into a Manhattan or Brooklyn bar now feels completely different to how it did a decade ago because all the women are in flats – and the figures from our surveys reflect that.”

“Gen Z and younger millennials prioritise comfort above all else and I don’t see them ever embracing stiletto culture,” she continues. “That attitude has affected older women as well, who are realising they don’t have to put themselves through the pain. With the rise of dad shoes and sneakers, we have seen a new culture grow, with young consumers saying they have fatigue with perfection.”