The Naked Shoe Trend is Giving a Stylish Revolution in Footwear

Fashion has spent years finding new ways to make shoes more noticeable.

Oversized silhouettes, sculptural heels, and deliberately unconventional designs have turned footwear into some of the most expressive pieces in a look. 

Now, the pendulum is swinging the other way. The latest shoe trend is about making the shoe almost disappear.

The naked shoe trend is exactly what its name suggests: footwear designed to expose as much of the foot as possible while using barely visible materials or minimal construction. 

Transparent PVC, delicate straps, mesh, and skin-revealing silhouettes create the illusion that the wearer is walking almost barefoot.

Well, the idea is not entirely new.

Transparent footwear has appeared repeatedly throughout fashion, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when minimal dressing and barely-there accessories were everywhere. 

The current version, however, feels broader.

It is no longer limited to clear pumps or celebrity red-carpet styling. Designers are experimenting with just how much of a conventional shoe can be removed before it stops looking like footwear altogether.

So much so that the trend has become particularly visible on the runway.

At Chanel’s Cruise 2027 show, Matthieu Blazy pushed the house’s footwear codes in an unusually stripped-back direction.

Instead of completely covering the foot, the designs featured heel elements secured with delicate ties while leaving much of the foot exposed. From certain angles, the shoes could almost be mistaken for bare feet.

The effect was deliberately ambiguous.

The footwear was present, but barely. It created the impression of a shoe without relying on the conventional structure we expect.

Chanel was not alone in exploring the idea.

Saint Laurent’s Spring 2027 menswear collection included transparent pointed-toe flats with translucent uppers, while Calvin Klein presented pared-back footwear that exposed much of the foot through minimal construction. 

At Proenza Schouler, barely-there stilettos relied on strategically placed straps around the toe and heel. These designs sit somewhere between conventional footwear and an optical illusion.

The point is not necessarily to make a practical everyday shoe.

On the runway, the naked shoe trend becomes a way of questioning how much structure is actually required for a shoe to remain recognisable as one.

Why the Naked Shoe is Suddenly Everywhere

The rise of the naked shoe trend also arrives at an interesting moment for fashion.

After several seasons of highly expressive footwear, designers have begun exploring minimalism again, particularly through lighter, less constructed silhouettes.

The return of 1990s fashion has helped create the right environment for this. The decade’s preference for simple sandals, slim silhouettes, and understated styling has resurfaced across contemporary wardrobes, with thong sandals becoming particularly prominent. Naked shoes take that same instinct for simplicity and push it further.

Celebrity styling has helped bring the idea beyond the runway.

Anya Taylor-Joy recently wore a pair of nearly invincible sandals with a vintage Bob Mackie gown during Miley Cyrus’ Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. 

The transparent straps were barely visible against her skin, keeping the silver gown as the obvious focus while creating an uninterrupted line through her legs.

Hailey Bieber has also embraced the look with transparent PVC pumps, while Kim Kardashian has returned to the aesthetic several times, including her custom, see-through footwear at the 2024 Met Gala. 

The appeal is easy to understand.

When the shoe visually recedes, the leg appears to continue without interruption, creating the elongated silhouette that has made barely-there footwear such a persistent styling trick.

This optical effect is part of why the naked shoe works so well with eveningwear. A dramatic dress can remain the centre of attention without competing with an equally elaborate shoe. 

With simpler outfits, the transparency creates a subtler effect, particularly when paired with denim, slip dresses, or other pieces associated with the minimalism of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But there is another reason the trend feels particularly suited to fashion right now: it’s slightly strange.

Fashion has become increasingly comfortable with shoes that provoke a reaction. Designers have experimented with exaggerated proportions, unconventional materials and silhouettes that deliberately challenge the idea of what footwear should look like.

The naked shoe belongs to the same conversation, but its provocation comes from subtraction rather than excess.

At Chanel, the exposed foot became almost part of the design itself.

At Calvin Klein, delicate structures wrapped around the foot without fully enclosing it. And at Area, a lace-like shoe created the impression of a barely visible sock.

The naked shoe fits neatly into fashion’s renewed interest in minimalism while satisfying the industry’s appetite for pieces that generate discussion.

For everyday dressing, the trend does not have to mean walking around in a shoe that barely resembles one.

The more wearable interpretation is already familiar in transparent sandals, delicate thong heels, mesh flats, and barely-there pumps. These versions retain enough structure to feel practical while still creating the elongated, uninterrupted effect associated with the naked shoe trend.

A good pedicure becomes particularly important when so much of the foot is exposed, but the styling possibilities are otherwise surprisingly broad. 

A transparent pump can soften tailoring, while a barely-there sandal can work with a flowing dress without interrupting its silhouette. Even denim can benefit from the contrast between a substantial outfit and a shoe that almost disappears beneath it.

The naked shoe may look radical on the runway, but its underlying idea is remarkably simple. Fashion is once again interested in restraint, and this time restraint is being applied to footwear.

After years of shoes demanding attention, perhaps the most unexpected statement is a shoe that barely asks to be seen.

Photo: Courtesy