Chanel's shoeless shoes: One thing's for sure - you can't stop looking at them

Matthieu Blazi's "shoeless shoes" for Chanel Resort 2027 have sparked debate - but their origins lead to Coco Chanel's freedom on the seaside, a surreal fashion history and a growing obsession with almost invisible pieces.

At Chanel's Resort 2027 show in Biarritz, Matthieu Blazi didn't just introduce the new "it" shoe - he offered the idea of ​​no shoe at all.

Models walked in delicate structures of heels tied around the ankle, while the foot remained completely bare. It was unusual, polarizing and immediately went viral, writes Vogue.

Although the internet was quick to call them "weird," fashion has seen extremes like this before.

Chanel's nearly invisible heels are part of a tradition of runway shoes that were never meant to be practical. They're reminiscent of Alexander McQueen's "Armadillo" shoes - those gravity-defying, alien platforms that are as familiar as they are useless.

Recently, Loewe, under the leadership of Jonathan Anderson, introduced heels wrapped in uninflated balloons - playful, slightly absurd and deliberately impractical.

With Schiaparelli, the surrealist tradition continues through sculptural shoes in the shape of human feet, transforming anatomy into decoration.

In this context, Chanel's "shoe without a shoe" comes across less as a shock and more as a continuation - another chapter in fashion's fascination with the absurd, the sculptural and the conceptual, the fashion house's website states.

"Yet Blazi's version carries a distinctly Chanel spirit. The Biarritz show subtly recalls Coco Chanel's early years, when she designed for a new kind of woman – one who valued freedom, movement and a relaxed life on the coast. There's a romantic image associated with Chanel: a woman walking along the beach with shoes in hand, unconcerned with convention. These heels bring that idea to life almost literally. They separate the symbol of the heel from the function of the shoe, as if capturing the moment after you've taken them off," writes Vogue.

If you look closely, the design takes on an almost mythological dimension. The delicate structures around the ankle are reminiscent of the talaria – the winged footwear of the Greek god Hermes, a symbol of speed and lightness, it adds.

Blazi's design also reflects a broader trend - the rise of the "anti-shoe." In recent seasons, footwear has become lighter, thinner and more conceptual. Chanel takes this logic to the extreme, reducing the shoe to its most basic symbol.

"The result is something extraordinary. By revealing the entire foot, the design draws attention to the anatomy – the arch, the toes, the balance itself. It is intimate, slightly surreal and undoubtedly provocative."

It also begs the question: who would actually wear shoes like this?

"But that may not be the point. Like McQueen's 'Armadillo' shoes or Loewe's balloon heels, Chanel's 'barefoot' heels are not about function, but about an idea. They were created to circulate, to provoke debate, to exist as images as much as objects. And in that sense – they completely succeeded. Because, whether you see them as absurd, poetic or quietly ingenious, one thing is certain: you can't stop looking at them," writes Vogue.