The toe shoe trend has undeniably taken over as footwear of the season, with pioneering silhouettes like the Margiela tabi shoes that blew up in 2023 or Tory Burch’s Spring/Summer 2024 pierced mule. Now, it seems as if the rules around what counts as presentable, going-out shoes—and what aren’t—are getting rather blurry. Toe-moulded flats are worn by fashionistas, see-through plastic derbies were sent down the runway, and open-toe pumps at Valentino sneakily exposes toe cleavage through a middle PVC strap.
Characterized by cloven or split toes designs, or any design feature that highlights the controversial feet fingers, the weird toe shoe has several synonyms: freaky shoes (coined by fashion writer, analyst, and content creator Mandy Lee), weird shoes, ugly shoes. The weirdest one of late has to be actress Margaret Qualley going ten toes down on the red carpet in Chanel’s barefoot sandals, which feature only a tiny leather heel cap that you lace yourself into—leaving your soles and toes completely uncovered.
It’s only natural that alongside a collapse of faith in the current perfect and polished era that the visual peak of outlandishness—such as shoes looking like fingerless gloves—is embraced. To slip on a pair of toe shoes is to confidently rebel against the conventional silhouette of a shoe. Some may even lean into it as an act of escapism, because, you have to admit there is some form of fantastical element here.
In the fashion weeks of late, the weird toe shoe appeared in various interpretations by different brands. At the Copenhagen Fashion Week this past August, Stockholm-based Studio Constance debuted Havaianas’ first-ever heeled sandal for their Spring/Summer 2027 Collection, with its rubber big-toe cap and tilted heel that superbly juxtaposed ensembles of feminine flowiness and refined silhouettes.
Even in the Celine Spring 2027 Menswear collection, creative director Michael Rider did not abandon his penchant for surprise as he sent models down the runway in skimpy, minimalist sandals that put toes on display—paired with blazers and tapered pants. Then, of course, Chanel caused quite a stir with their heel-only sandals from its Cruise 2026/27 collection. It’s as though these fashion houses are in a secret competition, trying to one-up each other in freakiness.
Even beyond the runway, for Skims, it was the Rift Mesh split-toe shoe made in a collaboration with Nike earlier this year, closely followed by the Jelly Shoe—simply put: translucent flats designed for the beach.
Pop-culture celebrities have also been dipping their toes in the freaky footwear movement, each in their own style, from pop stars Charli XCX and Adéla having their phalanges on a cheeky display by donning the Saint Laurent Brigitte Pumps and Babylone Stiletto respectively to actress Havana Rose Liu in Balenciaga’s Duchesse pump. Scroll on to learn how your favourite celebrities are dipping their toes in footwear’s hottest trend.
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