Margaret Qualley Took A Controversial Shoe Style For A Spin On The Red Carpet

These days, celebrity skin is not an uncommon sight. From celebs who wore no makeup on the red carpet and looked good doing it to the increasing popularity of the "naked dress," every movie premiere and award show is an opportunity for members of the glitterati to bare it all. But just how many of them would dare to bare ... their feet? While it's not totally unheard of to go shoeless on the red carpet, Margaret Qualley recently took the phrase "put your best foot forward" to new heights.

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At the London premiere of her latest movie, "The Dog Stars," on August 20, 2026, Qualley stepped onto the, well, gray concrete (there was no red carpet) in the most eyebrow-raising item of Chanel's 2027 resort collection: the barefoot sandal. Consisting of only a leather heel cap tied onto the foot with two sets of laces, it's also been called the "half shoe," among other colorful descriptors. Qualley also wore a fringed V-neck Chanel dress, but few seemed to notice any details going on above the ankle.

To say that Qualley's choice of footwear was an effective conversation starter would be an understatement. One Reddit thread garnered over 1,000 comments from users, most of whom felt the shoes were both aesthetically unpleasing and wildly impractical. "What's classy if you're rich, but trashy if you're poor: showing up to work without shoes," read one comment that earned 10,000 upvotes, while another user declared, "I'm mad that they're calling these shoes." The overall sentiment, as illustrated by another comment: "Dumb. Gross."

Fashion editors, however — specifically, the ones at Vogue — praised Qualley's boldness. They themselves were wary of what they called 'Chanel's freaky new shoes' when the collection debuted in spring 2026, but most came around quickly, and by the time "The Dog Stars" premiered, they were full converts. The barefoot sandal is definitely not the most comfortable summer 2026 sandal trend, but these shoes weren't created for practicality, and they fit perfectly into Qualley's unique brand of style. A little unhygienic? Sure. But that's between Qualley and her pedicurist.