Emmy Rossum Proves the Prada Vitello Ankle Boot Is the Ultimate 2010s Style Icon

On Christmas Eve 2015, Emmy Rossum volunteered at the Los Angeles Mission in downtown Los Angeles alongside her mother, Cheryl Rossum, helping serve meals during the organization’s annual holiday outreach event.

Emmy Rossum volunteers at the Los Angeles Mission on Christmas Eve 2015 in Los Angeles, pairing her serving uniform with black Prada ankle boots (Credit: FayesVision / WENN)

Best known for her role as Fiona Gallagher on Shameless, Emmy balanced practicality with polished mid-2010s styling, layering a textured red knit sweater over super-skinny black jeans and finishing the look with sleek black Prada Vitello ankle boots.

The streamlined silhouette of the boots worked naturally with the tucked-in denim trend that dominated celebrity street style at the time.

Layering a textured red sweater beneath her Los Angeles Mission apron, Emmy Rossum balanced warmth and polished simplicity with fitted black jeans and Prada boots on December 24, 2015

The appearance also offered a rare public glimpse of Emmy with her mother, who raised her as a single parent while working as a corporate photographer in New York.

Emmy’s red sweater subtly echoed the Los Angeles Mission’s red-and-white branding, helping the outfit feel cohesive in press photos while still remaining understated for the volunteer event.

Emmy Rossum and her mother, Cheryl Rossum, volunteer together at the Los Angeles Mission on Christmas Eve 2015, coordinating festive red-and-blue aprons during the annual holiday outreach event

The fitted black jeans also anchored the look firmly in 2015 fashion, when super-skinny denim and slim ankle boots were a defining off-duty celebrity combination.

By keeping the hem streamlined and tucked neatly into the boots, Emmy created the elongated silhouette that Prada’s minimalist footwear was designed to emphasize.

Emmy Rossum completed her volunteer look with sleek black Prada ankle boots featuring a slim heel and clean side-zip silhouette

Reflecting on her involvement, Emmy said she discovered the Los Angeles Mission through friends and emphasized that giving back is something anyone can do, regardless of social media reach or celebrity visibility.

Emmy Rossum shared a candid moment with her mother while serving meals at the Los Angeles Mission, bringing a personal warmth to the Christmas Eve event

Emmy completed the look with Prada’s black Vitello leather ankle boots, a sleek side-zip style crafted from smooth calf leather known for its durability and refined finish.

The narrow heel and minimal design reflected Prada’s cleaner mid-2010s aesthetic, years before the brand shifted toward the chunky Monolith lug-sole boots that later dominated celebrity street style.

Prada Vitello Leather Ankle Boot in Black (“Nero”), originally retailing for around $890, reflected the streamlined luxury boot silhouettes Prada was known for throughout the mid-2010s

More Prada Boot Moments With a Celebrity Edge

Emmy Rossum’s black Prada ankle boots kept her Christmas Eve volunteer look polished without pulling focus from the moment.

That same balance—practical, sharp, and unmistakably designer—has made Prada boots a recurring choice in celebrity street style, airport dressing, and red-carpet-adjacent outfits.