Chanel sets trends like no other fashion house, and the industry’s most influential insiders flock in their hundreds to all but catch a glimpse of its collections as they step foot on the runway for the first time. Legacy details and conversational silhouettes combine each season, but there’s always one look that divides the critics. The latest talking point? The footless sandal. This statement piece might just become the most reported design from Matthieu Blazy’s debut Cruise collection, and it’s only a matter of time until it makes its way into stores worldwide.
This weird and wonderful holiday shoe sashayed down the Biarritz catwalk on 28 April as part of the Chanel Cruise SS27 collection. Barely there, teamed with a clear pedicure for a natural, carefree look, and styled with raffia skirts and brass-buttoned blouses that would work in the city as well as the coast, it was proof that a minimal aesthetic can definitely make a statement. It’s a progression from this season’s barely-there sandal – an aesthetic that’s present in just about every SS26 collection and is easier, perhaps, to style if you are, in fact, not a Chanel model.
Love it or hate it, one thing’s for sure – the footless sandal is the shoe of the season, and it won’t be long before more affordable fashion labels release summer sandals inspired by the shape. For now, or if you’re yet to be convinced on the longevity of this look, shop the season’s best barely-there sandals and dip your toe in the trend.
