Some trends whisper before they return, but Jenna Ortega prefers to kick the door open, usually in a pair of platforms you can spot from across the room. At the Marrakesh International Film Festival, she moved through the red carpet lineup like someone curating her own mini fashion exhibition: an emerald Torlowei dress here, a feathered Bevza moment there, a sculptural Dolce & Gabbana gown tied up with a neat cross pendant. But the real story wasn’t the dresses. It was what she wore under them.
Jenna has quietly (and now very loudly) become the unofficial ambassador for the stacked heel, reviving a style many of us thought had retired with early-2010s Tumblr boards. For the festival’s final night, she chose a fiery red Lanvin gown with an asymmetrical neckline linked to a polished silver choker and one elegant bell sleeve. Everything was glamorous, yes but her shoes did the heavy lifting. Literally.
She stepped out in silver Dolce & Gabbana platform sandals, the kind with a generous sole, a skyscraper block heel and a tiny ankle strap offering just enough stability to keep the confidence high. They weren’t just accessories. They were a thesis statement.
At 4’11”, Jenna has long relied on elevated footwear to balance the sweeping, architectural gowns that have become her signature. She wore Roker’s Highbury boots, part sculpture, part shoe with her Bevza dress, pieces she also brings out for galas and even casual New York strolls. Her ivory Dolce & Gabbana look came with metallic gold platforms, while elsewhere she’s slipped into stacked Christian Louboutin sandals. Wherever she goes, the shoes follow… usually in towering formation.
And she’s not alone. The stacked heel is having a quiet renaissance just in time for party season. Chloé is leaning into boho wedges again. Valentino’s jewel-toned platforms refuse to disappear. Sabrina Carpenter stays loyal to Versace’s satin Medusa Aevitas. Prada has even revived a platform derby-espadrille hybrid, a little quirky, but proof that the category now has range.
