Fashion’s obsession with naked dressing has officially reached the ground. The latest frontier? The “naked shoe” — footwear designed to disappear.
The trend went viral this week after actress Margaret Qualley stepped onto the world premiere of “The Dog Stars” in Chanel’s most talked-about design of the year.
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In a four-slide carousel posted by ELLE Magazine, Qualley is seen posing with co-star Jacob Elordi in a full Chanel Cruise 2027 look, with close-ups showing her feet in the brand’s barefoot sandals — complete with a matching black pedicure.
The shoes, officially called the “barefoot heel cap” by the brand, are intentionally incomplete. They feature slight heel support and two small straps that hug the top of the foot, but the fabric ends there, leaving the toes entirely bare.
The design first debuted at Chanel’s Cruise 2026-27 show in Biarritz, France, on April 28.
Credited to French-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy, the sandal removes large portions of the toe, upper and sole, leaving only the heel, heel counter and an ankle strap.
International outlets quickly nicknamed it the “naked shoe” or “shoeless shoe,” praising how it blurs the line between footwear and art.
Qualley is the first celebrity to wear the runway version in real life, pairing the gold-strap iteration with a V-neck fringe dress with an intentionally uneven hem from the same collection.
She’s not alone in the movement. The naked shoe has become fashion’s boldest statement for 2026 as Saint Laurent showed transparent derby shoes with a printed foot illusion and clear-strap mules, Loewe presented clear jelly pumps and Celine leaned into barely-there thong sandals.
The editorial coverage, summed up by The Zoe Report as “Move Over, Naked Dresses — It’s All About Naked Shoes Now,” frames it as the natural evolution of minimalism.
Online reaction, as always, is mixed.
Many questioned the sandal’s practicality for everyday wear, calling it more decorative than functional and ill-suited to urban streets. Critics argue the design is less about everyday usefulness and more about pushing creative boundaries — a statement piece meant to provoke.
Chanel says the sandal is slated for an official release in November, though whether the retail version will mirror the runway pair remains uncertain.
