In fashion, things rarely truly disappear; even if a form becomes lighter, more transparent, or nearly imperceptible, a trace of its meaning always remains. This was the case with the “naked dress,” which over the years ceased to be merely a dress and became a language of the body, visibility, and control over the gaze. Now, at the Chanel Resort 2027 show in Biarritz, Matthieu Blazy seems to be taking this logic even further. It is no longer about revealing skin. It is about the near total withdrawal of the object itself.
On the Chanel runway, footwear ceases to fulfill its obvious function. Instead of classic shoes, we see designs that hover on the border between presence and absence delicate straps wrapping around the ankle, subtle structures supporting the heel as if the entire form had been reduced to a gesture. The sole disappears, the weight is suspended, and the foot suddenly becomes visible in a way that is both natural and unsettling. These are not bare feet, but their illusion something between a shoe and its absence.
Although the effect seems radical, its roots are deeply embedded in Chanel’s history. From the very beginning, the brand built its aesthetic around the idea of freedom freedom from constraints, from stiffness, from anything that restricted movement. Gabrielle Chanel’s early designs responded to the need for a lighter, more natural way of life, one connected to the body in motion. Biarritz, where the show took place, is therefore no coincidence it is a space that evokes the freedom of the seaside, the wind, and the light, so close to Chanel’s original vision.
In this context, “disappearing shoes” are not a break with tradition, but rather its extreme evolution. The classic models with contrasting toes, which defined the fashion house for decades, were based on a balance between function and aesthetics. Blazy shatters this balance, leaving only a fragment of the shoe a hint that suggests footwear more than it actually is.
This is part of a broader shift that the fashion world has been observing for several seasons now: a move toward minimalism, dematerialization, and an aesthetic of understatement. Shoes are becoming thinner, more conceptual, and at times almost invisible. Chanel takes this process to the extreme, where footwear doesn’t so much simplify as it dissolves into its own concept.
The effect is mesmerizing, because suddenly the focus shifts from the object to the body. The exposed foot its arch, its tension, the way it engages with space becomes the focal point of the entire composition. What is usually hidden and taken for granted is brought to the forefront, as if fashion had suddenly stopped covering up and started dismantling.
Of course, the question remains about function, about wearability, about everyday life. But perhaps that is no longer the right perspective. The “naked shoe” is not about utility in the classical sense. It is about shifting the boundary to the moment when the shoe ceases to be an object and becomes the idea of its presence.
What remains in the end is an image that is hard to shake from memory: a foot that is almost bare, yet surrounded by a delicate structure that suggests footwear more than it actually is. It is fashion in a state of limbo between existence and its absence.
And perhaps that is precisely why the “naked shoe” has such a powerful impact. It does not answer the question of what a shoe is. Rather, it disarms it.
And if the “naked dress” taught us to look at the body differently, then the “naked shoe” may teach us something even more unsettling: that even the most functional aspect of fashion can become merely a memory of its own form.
Photos: Press materials
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