Rick Owens Ballast Mule

A round toe is the hardest shape in footwear to make convincing. Pointed reads as formal, square reads as current, and round reads either as a child’s shoe or as something considerably more interesting, with very little space in between. This one lands in the interesting register because it is not slightly round, it is emphatically round, and the sole is heavy enough to carry it. Overstate a shape and it becomes deliberate. Understate it and it looks like a mistake.

The mule construction is the second decision. There is no back, so the shoe is held on by the foot rather than by the shoe, which makes the volume at the front look larger by contrast and gives the whole thing an oddly weightless walk despite the sole. It is a summer shoe with a winter sole, which should not work.

What it does to an outfit is more useful than what it does on its own. Put this under a wide trouser and the trouser reads as narrow. Put it under a slim one and the shoe is the entire statement. It is not a neutral object and it does not pretend to be.

Why we selected it

We wanted one piece of Owens footwear that a customer could wear in July, and this is it. It is also the easiest shoe in the house’s line to walk in, which is not a low bar in this category and matters more than the picture suggests.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent leather. Made in Italy, in Black. Exaggerated round toe on a heavy sole, backless mule construction.

Fit notes

A backless shoe holds on differently from a closed one and generally wants to be close through the instep rather than roomy, because there is nothing at the heel to keep it on. A heavy sole with no flex will feel substantial on the first wearing. We would rather you tried these on than guessed.

Styling

Under a wide trouser or a long skirt, where only the toe shows and the proportion does its work. With a mini or a cropped trouser the whole shoe is visible and it becomes a much louder decision, which is a legitimate choice and should be a conscious one.

Care

Leather is brushed rather than washed. Keep it out of standing water, let it dry naturally and away from heat if it does get wet, and store it flat rather than stacked so nothing presses into the toe. A backless shoe takes its wear at the footbed, which will darken where the foot sits; that is the shoe recording its owner and not a fault. We do not prescribe a conditioning interval. Our care guidance covers leather in detail.

Related pieces

The SS26 Cantilever 6 Minimal Sandal is the sandal in the same register, the Flip Flops plainer still, and the Mega Bumper Low Sneaks the one with the deepest sole. There is more on the house on the Rick Owens designer page. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.