It’s become apparent for many years that the fashion industry has largely run out of ideas, and a new “sandal” is proving the point.
Luxury brand Chanel unveiled a new heel-capped contraption that leaves the rest of the foot exposed during its Cruise 2027 collection in France on Tuesday.
The ridiculous design was reportedly even questioned by Chanel’s own staff until they talked themselves into it after seeing a picture of the beach.
“At some point, someone told me, ‘It’s too much,’” Chanel Creative Director Matthieu Blazy told Women’s Wear Daily. “And then we saw this amazing photo of the seashore … it’s such a mess, such an explosion. I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s go!’”
Plenty of X users agreed about the “too much” part:
We’ve officially done too much.https://t.co/YWtcvQRDOD
— Amanda Macias (@amanda_m_macias) April 30, 2026
Elle Lookbook added the caveat “it’s legit” to its reporting:
Chanel just dropped a “cap-heel” sandal that’s basically just a heel strapped to your foot.
No full sole, barely any structure.
It almost looks like you’re walking barefoot.This is legit.
Cruise 2026/2027. pic.twitter.com/luJcjMNcS0
— Elle Lookbook (@EvaLovesDesign) April 30, 2026
And the hits kept coming:
This reeks of third-worlder design philosophy.
— ꀤꂵꉣꍏꉓ꓄ ꃅꌩꉣꂦ꓄ꃅꍟꌗꀤꌗ (@Shamichoro) April 29, 2026
So tired of these overpriced trash.
Channel used to set fashion standards now it looks like some trash someone picked up.
— JaneL (@Eibhilim) April 29, 2026
All this for only $5000 pic.twitter.com/R78wzK51YI
— Chad (@chadisthedad) April 30, 2026
And it costs nothing to go barefoot!
The thong underwear of footwear.
— John Montgomery (@John8Montgomery) April 29, 2026
It’s a string footkini!
— 3LandObserver (@3LandObserver) April 29, 2026
Tell me you’ve got a foot fetish, without telling me you’ve got a foot fetish
— Empress Di4mond (@EmpressDi4mond) April 30, 2026
Chanel is literally trying to sell you your own feet.
— Chris Van Bueller (@ChrisVanBueller) April 29, 2026
“Aviva-Luxury Reseller” claimed to know the real reason for the bizarre design, which she shared on X.
“Essentially runway shows are meant to showcase a designers vision for the brand for that particular collection,” the account explained. “The pieces that are often on the ‘edgier’ side like those sandals elicit a tremendous amount of buzz, which yes, sometimes is negative. BUT, the negative buzz is often not their target consumer. These sandals will likely never be produced, and IF they are, it will be in extremely limited quantities and offered exclusively to the most elite Chanel collectors around the world.”
If accurate, mission accomplished.
