The opera pump is a flat shoe that has been buffed, lacquered, and finished with a neatly tied grosgrain ribbon. Originally designed as a court shoe for 18th-century British male aristocrats, the opera pump has continued to evolve within menswear. The Varina, the sister style to the Vara, features a near-flat heel and appearing in Ferragamo’s fall 2026 collection. Sleek and bow-less, its glossy high vamp and short heel echo the polish of the opera pump, but for those with minimalist leanings. Reformation introduced its Inez shoe around the same time, first as a pump, then as a flat and a heeled mule.