Margaret Qualley brought one of Chanel's most unconventional recent footwear designs to the red carpet in London, wearing the house's distinctive "barefoot" sandals to the premiere of The Dog Stars. The look paired the unusual shoes with a black Chanel dress featuring delicate fringe and tassel-like detailing, creating a striking contrast between minimal footwear and intricate texture.
The shoes were introduced by Matthieu Blazy, Chanel's creative director, as part of the house's Resort 2027 collection, which debuted in Biarritz, France. Vogue identifies Qualley's red-carpet footwear as the same sole-less design presented on the runway, consisting of a leather heel cap secured with laces while leaving the toes and soles exposed.
The Chanel Look Puts Barely-There Footwear Front and Center
For the London premiere, Qualley wore the unconventional sandals with a black, cap-sleeved Chanel dress. Vogue describes the dress as featuring delicate fringe, while the overall effect brings together several contrasting details: an exposed-foot shoe, tactile embellishment and a deliberately pared-back silhouette.
The footwear is arguably the most unexpected part of the ensemble. Rather than a conventional pump, strappy sandal or ballet flat, the Chanel design essentially frames the heel while leaving much of the foot uncovered.
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That approach was already a defining feature of Blazy's Resort 2027 presentation. Vogue previously highlighted the sole-less Chanel shoes as part of a broader shift toward unconventional red-carpet footwear at the 2026 Met Gala, where other guests also opted for barely-there sandals, although they were not wearing Chanel's exact design.
The look therefore works through contrast. The dress supplies the ornamentation through its fringe detailing, while the footwear strips the styling back to an unusually minimal construction.
Fringe and Tassels Add Texture to the Minimalist Shoes
The dress's delicate fringe provides another distinctive element. Instead of relying on sequins, crystals or elaborate jewelry to create movement, the Chanel design uses small, textural details that extend from the dress and give the otherwise dark look a softer finish. Vogue specifically describes the garment as a black Chanel dress with cap sleeves and delicate fringe.
The combination makes the outfit notable without requiring the shoes and dress to compete for attention. The fringe adds visual movement above the ankle, while the nearly absent-looking footwear keeps the lower half of the look intentionally understated.
It is also a useful example of how Blazy's Chanel designs are bringing unexpected construction and styling ideas into the house's established vocabulary. The Resort 2027 collection introduced the barefoot shoes as a deliberately unconventional interpretation of footwear, and Qualley has now taken that runway concept onto a major film-premiere red carpet.
Matthieu Blazy's Chanel Design Gets a Red-Carpet Moment
The confirmed designer credit is important here: this is Matthieu Blazy for Chanel, rather than an archival Chanel look or a design from a previous creative director. Blazy unveiled his first Chanel couture collection in 2026, and his Resort 2027 collection in Biarritz continued to introduce new interpretations of the house's codes, including the distinctive barefoot footwear.
Qualley is also a longstanding Chanel collaborator and has worn the house frequently for premieres and major fashion events. W Magazine has previously described her as having a particularly close relationship with Chanel, noting that she first walked for the house as a teenager and has repeatedly appeared in its designs on the red carpet.
At The Dog Stars in London, however, the focus is less on a traditional Chanel evening look and more on the unusual construction of the ensemble. The combination of the exposed-foot sandal, fringe detailing and deliberately raw-looking finish gives the appearance a distinctly modern edge while remaining rooted in the house's latest collection.
Rather than treating the barefoot shoe as a conventional sandal, Chanel has made the absence of a traditional shoe part of the design itself. Qualley's premiere appearance offers one of the clearest red-carpet examples yet of how that idea translates from the runway to an event setting.
