Welcome to Icons Only, Who What Wear UK’s deep dive into traditional pieces which can be as soon as once more beneath the highlight. This month, Who What Wear UK’s Ava Gilchrist charts the upward thrust and upward thrust of essentially the most noteworthy footwear of all time, the Chanel Slingback.
It’s onerous to consider a time earlier than Chanel’s slingback footwear. The two-toned genre that includes a rounded toe cap and a dainty strap that hooks across the ankle is a staple of the French maison—a motif synonymous with magnificence, ease and Parisian sophistication. It’s those qualities that experience made the shoes genre so ubiquitous, noticed far and wide from the runway and entrance rows of the Grand Palais for the luxuriate’s seasonal showings to the following rising actress being snapped at the Boulevard de l. a. Croisette at the once a year Cannes Film Festival. In reality, the time was once 1957. A couple of years after Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and a decade earlier than Mary Quant’s miniskirts would dominate Soho, the primary iteration of the shoe stepped onto the scene, converting the process dressmaker shoes eternally.
“With four pairs of shoes, I can travel the world,” the mythical dressmaker as soon as mentioned of the way. As defined within the spouse e-book to the primary exhibition devoted to her existence and legacy, Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto, the debut providing was once in reality a quartet created for each instance: “Black-toed for daytime and general wear, navy blue for summertime, brown for a ‘sporty’ look and gold for evening”.
Now, the Chanel slingbacks are rendered in the whole lot from sweet colored tweed to dazzling glitter material and grosgrain, a testomony to the long-lasting legacy of the shoe and its talent to be boldly reinterpreted through whomever is on the helm of the home. Its perennial attraction is a testomony to the undying femininity that Chanel is constructed upon. Irrespective of the style du jour, the signal of the days or the tastes of the wearer, the logo’s slingbacks are an enduring trend signature.
But how have they advanced from a sigil of Chanel’s comeback to a recognisable icon in their very own proper? With hero buys just like the titular No.5 perfume and the quilted 2.55 purse, what concerning the slingbacks has made them stand above the remaining? Ahead, trend historians, celebrated Chanel creditors and genre psychologists hint their origins and assist weigh in on their unwavering have an effect on.
Back in Time: The History of Chanel Slingbacks
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
An insignificant 18 years earlier than the inception of the Chanel slingbacks in 1957, the eponymous former milliner had taken a step again from trend in line with the outbreak of the army motion raging throughout Europe. Between her apartments at The Ritz and an condominium above her atelier and boutique at 31 Rue Cambon, Chanel watched on as the sector modified. “Chanel only re-opened after World War II in 1954, so the period when these shoes were introduced was very much a period of rebuilding for the house,” explains New York-based trend historian, writer and curator, Emma McClendon.
“An important context for the shoe is a comparison with the Roger Vivier stiletto heels designed for Dior to accompany his ultra-feminine, corseted, A-line styles,” she provides. “By contrast, Chanel’s slingback shoe is remarkably more comfortable—it has a block heel that’s lower and a rounded toe, as opposed to a pointed toe. These design elements make the shoes much easier to move and walk in,” she continues. “Chanel had spent the interwar years building the reputation of her house as the pinnacle of dressing for the modern woman. A woman who didn’t wear corsets, who wanted to be able to breathe in her clothing as she moved about the city in her fast-paced, modern lifestyle.”
Dr Carolyn Mair, trend industry advisor and writer of The Psychology of Fashion, echoes this overview of the environment that impressed the footwear. “The introduction of the slingback reflected an elegant rebellion against restrictive fashion. The brand was reasserting its identity of a modernist vision of functional luxury rooted in ease and understated sophistication when femininity was being reshaped post-WWII.” So, the way to level an excellent go back in opposition to your competition and set your self excluding types that outlined a bygone generation? You derive inspiration from sudden assets. Most importantly, Old Hollywood bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, pin-up figures like Bettie Page.
“[Stars] like these embodied a curvaceous, overtly sexual, and performative femininity. Slingbacks in this context were linked to seduction and glamour, not necessarily elegance in the Parisian sense,” Mair explains. “For Chanel, repurposing this silhouette signalled a bold reframing, elevating a shoe associated with sex appeal into a mark of discretion.” The rendering of one thing risqué into one thing extra socially appropriate is a large job, and one who wasn’t all with out demanding situations. “It wasn’t well received at first,” McClendon tells me. “Generally speaking, the fashion press did not like Chanel’s tweed suits and designs when she relaunched”. This bold transfer, then again, was once partially what made a long-lasting influence. “Designing a shoe that exposed the heel aligned with Chanel’s legacy of ‘controlled provocation’, which challenged norms, but within acceptable boundaries. The slingback revealed just enough skin to feel slightly transgressive without being vulgar,” Mair notes.
But if you already know anything else concerning the Chanel slingbacks, you’ll know that the footwear’ introduction fable may be tied up within the dandy-esque garments worn through her pals, the Duke of Westminster.
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
It’s mentioned that she was once influenced through the two-tone footwear worn through body of workers on Hugh Grosvenor’s yacht. We don’t understand how a lot of this tale is to be true, however even supposing a lot of this narrative is anecdotal, her publicity to Harris Tweed from her journeys to the Scottish Highlands and Saville Row tailoring thru his expertly crafted suiting and aristocratic leisurewear truly helped outline her lens. “Such gender-bending is an important aspect of Chanel,” McClendon says. “She wanted to create a wardrobe for the modern woman that would enable her independent lifestyle rather than inhibit it, so she looked to men’s clothing for design details to create the codes of the house that are now so recognisable.”
As they are saying, top chance, top praise. One may just by no means have predicted that the amalgamation of each the hyperfeminine, thru a vampy disclose of the surface across the ankle, and exaggerated masculine through making one thing rooted in software quite than aesthetics would’ve stood the take a look at of time, particularly in that length. As Marie Ottavi, French trend journalist for the newspaper Libération and the writer of Rizzoli’s Karl Lagerfeld: A Fashion History places it. “She was called modern when others disappeared.” Let’s no longer disregard, as Ottavi rings a bell in my memory, that after this shoe emerged, Elsa Schiaparelli closed her space on Place Vendôme, Christian Dior had died and a definite ready-to-wear genre was once being advanced with Yves Saint Laurent taking fee at Dior and Gaby Aghion offered Chloé.
A Fresh Step: The Early Design of the Chanel Slingback
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
To create the prestigious silhouette, Chanel tapped a number of shoemakers to carry her imaginative and prescient to existence. It was once the bespoke French bootmaker Massaro, who were working since 1841, who replied her name. In lieu of razor-sharp heels, Massaro and Chanel shortened the peak to a extra manageable period of six inches. A revealing higher fabricated from beige leather-based was once used to elongate the determine, whilst the signature black satin toe-cap deceived the attention into considering you had a smaller foot measurement whilst additionally concealing any scuffs. It’s additionally mentioned that the elasticated slingback genre helped girls stealthily kick the footwear off whilst sitting on the dinner desk and slip them on once more and not using a battle or a scene.
Given that is the dressmaker who famously quipped,“before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off”, it must come as no wonder that considered one of her maximum everlasting works is the only maximum rooted in simplicity. Even with out the standards at play that propelled it as a rebellious shift clear of austere and inflexible models of the time, the very look and description of the slingbacks are designed to persist. “Its success lies in its psychological balance,” says Mair. “Structured yet soft, feminine but not fragile, nostalgic and modern. It flatters many foot shapes, fits various contexts (day to night, casual to formal), and always expresses good taste. It’s a subtle yet powerful symbol of the Chanel woman communicating an enduring message of confidence, elegance and autonomy.” The slingbacks are eternally younger, and by the point they have been being worn through Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor and Kathryn Hepburn, they have been already being fast-tracked to cult standing. Then, Karl Lagerfeld got here alongside to shake issues up for just right.
New Direction: How Karl Lagerfeld Shaped the Shoe
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
When the overdue German dressmaker took keep an eye on of Chanel in 1983 to restore what was once thought to be to be flailing. Coco’s codes have been just about a far off reminiscence. So, quite than resurrecting the logo through pandering to his predecessors’ maximum notorious designs—pastel jersey slip clothes and boxy fits alike—Lagerfeld opted for a visible language that was once way more dramatic. Kaiser Karl, as he was once affectionately dubbed on the time, dripped his designs in gold chains or camellias, cinched in proportions and closed out his presentations with a twiglet in a marriage robe—a customized Chanel nonetheless practices to at the moment. As for the slingbacks? Out with the classics and in with the recent. Leather was once swapped out for colourful tweeds, clear PVC and adorned with rhinestones. Pumps changed into boots, ballet residences and completed with a string of pearls.
“Lagerfeld was a master of branding,” McClendon explains of his talent in adapting the slingbacks to fit an array of palettes. “He had an incredible talent for identifying design codes and defining a clear visual vocabulary for any company he worked at. “Every season he created his take on the cap-toe shoes. In the hands of another designer at the time, I don’t know that this vocabulary would have become so clearly defined or as versatile,” she continues. “Over time, the slingbacks have become a branding device used for merchandising and reinforcing the company’s visual identity.” Mair has the same opinion: “Karl Lagerfeld’s genius was his ability to tap into Chanel’s codes and reinterpret them for the now. By transforming the slingback into boots and heels, he showed how the slingback could be archival and avant-garde, classic yet playful.”
Lagerfeld reintroduced the Chanel slingbacks within the autumn/wintry weather 2015 assortment. Evoking the sense of Parisian café tradition through development his very personal bistro, which he aptly titled The Brasserie Gabrielle, Lagerfeld virtually completely dressed every of his 97 appears to be like in a couple of classic-style slingbacks.
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
“I remember in 2015 when Karl launched it a second time…it was quite something.” Mouana Ayoub, the French-Lebanese socialite and owner of one of the world’s biggest haute couture collections, tells me what seeing this historical moment was like. “I was a bit surprised, but I thought that they were so young-looking and cute. The proud owner of over 120 pairs of Chanel slingbacks, Ayoub explains that she bought her first pair a year later to match with a couture suit. “My favourites are the ones with the black tip because, as Coco used to say, they make the foot look smaller.”
When I asked her about why she thinks the slingbacks have remained as popular as they are, she put it down to this one simple fact: “Because they are comfortable and so so chic.” Given that she was one of Lagerfeld’s biggest customers, I wondered if he ever imparted any wisdom to her about why the style was so successful. “I did in fact ask him if I could look good in them, although I am not by any means tall,” she explained. “He said to me, ‘They are made for the elegant women, not only for the tall ones’”.
Chanel’s Crown Jewel: Royals Wearing the Slingbacks
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
At the similar time Lagerfeld was once subverting Chanel’s slingbacks into novel and recent takes, a definite Lady Spencer had begun adopting the unique genre as her go-to shoes selection for public appearances. Indeed, Princess Diana was once no stranger to the dressmaker set and her trend legacy lives on in luxurious luggage, together with Dior’s Lady Dior or Gucci’s Diana or iconic looks like her Versace and Moschino skirt suits. One of her most iconic Chanel moments comes when she wore the slingbacks on a royal tour to Thailand in 1988. The tradition continued when her daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, wore them twice while travelling. The first was when she attended the 2023 Invictus Games in Germany alongside Prince Harry, while the second outing came during the Montecito-based couple’s trip to Colombia in 2024.
While Catherine, Princess of Wales, has yet to adopt this style (she prefers a more affordable version by Camilla Elphick), Princess Beatrice took inspiration from her late aunt by wearing them to the Royal Ascot in 2023. It’s not unusual to see monarchs look to sartorial signatures for their own wardrobes. But, it is interesting to see a style representative of nonconformity and modernism become adopted in this way. “Slingbacks convey understated elegance, tradition and refinement. These are qualities aligned with royal identity,” Mair offers as a potential reasoning for the Chanel slingbacks’ co-sign from royals. “Psychologically, their classic design signals stability and authority without appearing ostentatious.”
An A-List Staple: Celebrities Wearing Chanel Slingbacks
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
What may also be mentioned then, for the best way during which Chanel’s ambassadors and pals of the home trade the which means of the shoe in keeping with how they put on them. For Kristen Stewart, slingbacks are extra an indication of resistance, punk and androgyny in step with her uniform of micro shorts and adapted shirting. In Lily-Rose Depp’s case, the French-American threads the needle between her archetypal Parisian and casually slung Los Angelino sides.
“A-listers often style them with a fashion-forward or rebellious edge, using the shoe to express individuality, modernity, or even a subcultural affiliation,” Mair notes. “Celebrity has always had a big effect on fashion. Having famous, recognisable stars wear Chanel styles has been a big help in building the reputation and reach of the brand,” McClendon adds.
Imprinting on the Modern Age: Influencers Wearing Chanel Slingbacks
(Image credit score: Who What Wear UK)
With the slingbacks celebrating their 68th anniversary this 12 months, it’s protected to mention that the way has cemented its legacy as a way icon. Adoration from movie stars, supermodels, aristocrats and main genre figures apart, its attraction may also be counted in the best way the design has been copied, duplicated and desired through everybody because the genre was once established. “What makes them so enduring is that they go with about everything you choose to wear, whether it’s a pair of jeans or a couture suit,” Ayoub observes. In some circles, trend insiders are taking cues from Carrie Bradshaw through carrying them with monitor shorts and bohemian blouses. Others are leading into more classy stylings by layering them back with little black dresses.
In 2025, the Chanel slingbacks are more popular than ever because of their versatility and lasting poise. For the first time ever, the brand appeared on eBay’s list of most bought luxury brands globally, showcasing a desire for older models and vintage styles, along with an interest in younger consumers who might be looking for a starter pair on resale platforms. For those who are yet to own a pair and looking to change that, Ayoub has a few pointers for you. “Firstly, they are very comfortable. Secondly, they fit to size, except the high-heeled ones. You will need to take half a size larger.” And with that, consider yourself a newfound expert on the Chanel slingbacks and shop a pair below.