Shoes for a Cure Takes Over the Miami Design District, With New York Up Next

Shoes for a Cure, the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation’s annual breast cancer fundraiser, is running its third Miami Design District edition through Sunday, October 18, 2026, with luxury boutiques donating a percentage of sales to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center — and on Wednesday, October 21, it heads north for its five-day charity shoe sale at New York’s Chelsea Market.

The Miami program opened Thursday, October 15, with a private dinner at Evan Funke’s Mother Wolf in the Design District, an evening of cocktails and live and silent auctions, with NBC South Florida Live host Kristin Sanchez slated to emcee the live auction. Highlights ranged from Harry Styles concert tickets paired with a stay at The St. Regis New York to courtside seats for the Miami Heat. The online auction closed at 10 p.m. that night, according to the Shoes for a Cure website.

Presenting brands Balmain, Carolina Herrera, Ferragamo, Manolo Blahnik and Sevan Bıçakçı are hosting exclusive shopping events for top clients, donors and guests, with a percentage of sales going to the cause. An expanded roster of Design District boutiques, including Alexander Wang and Veronica Beard per the district’s announcement, is giving a portion of purchases to breast cancer research and patient care. It’s also a fresh excuse to visit Carolina Herrera’s new Design District flagship, which opened in August.

Photo Credit: World Red Eye

“Shoes for a Cure is an extraordinary organization that brings people together through creativity and purpose,” said Craig Robins, President & CEO of Dacra and Chair of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. “We are honored to have them back for a third year in the Miami Design District.”

This year’s chairs include Maria Buccellati, Craig Robins and Dr. Stephen Nimer alongside Nabil Aliffi, Marile Lopez, Jayne Sylvester Malfitano, Eva Nakvosas, Carrie Rubin and Kristin Sanchez, a committee that shows how quickly a New York charity tradition has become a fixture of Miami’s fall calendar.

New York gets its turn next week. The signature sale runs Wednesday, October 21, through Sunday, October 25, at Chelsea Market, 75 9th Avenue, open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, per the organizers’ website. Some 10,000 pairs of footwear for women, men and children donated by brands including Stuart Weitzman, Sam Edelman, Larroudé, Birkenstock and ASICS will be sold by more than 450 volunteers, with proceeds supporting breast cancer research at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Photo Credit: World Red Eye

Around it, Manolo Blahnik will host a private dinner followed by a shopping evening with Emily Rockefeller, with proceeds benefiting Weill Cornell Medicine [VERIFY: date of Manolo Blahnik dinner not in release]. At Saks Fifth Avenue’s flagship, the express elevator to the shoe floor will be logo-wrapped for Shoes for a Cure, with a percentage of shoe-sale proceeds going to the cause the week of October 21–28. Birkenstock closes the season on November 4 with an intimate evening at its Brooklyn storefront.

The initiative began in 1994 as a charity shoe sale in Central Park under the name Shoes on Sale, and it has since generated more than $65 million for breast cancer research. “What makes Shoes for a Cure so special is the way we bring curated experiences to brands and consumers throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month—from intimate activations in Miami to our iconic New York shoe sale,” said Sarah Lubas, Co-Chair of the Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation.

Shoes for a Cure runs in the Miami Design District through Sunday, October 18; the Chelsea Market charity shoe sale, 75 9th Avenue, New York, runs October 21–25.

For more of Haute Living’s Miami Design District coverage, see the best restaurants in the Miami Design District right now.