The popularity of the clear shoe has reached a fever pitch. From the runways to black tie red carpet events, celebrities, including men and women, are pairing their translucent, see-through shoes with everything from giant angel wings to gold suits.
The shoes’ lack of color makes them versatile, while also providing a subdued base when paired with a vibrant or over the-top ensemble. The barefoot trend, or creating the illusion of being barefoot, has also helped increase the demand for clear shoes. The right clear high heel or sandals can give the appearance of going shoeless, while still keeping your bare feet off the ground.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2026 went down over the weekend, and Amina Muaddi served as the official shoe partner for the show. The luxury shoe designer has had plenty of PVC and translucent offerings that were on display on the runway.
Models Kylie Jenner, Candice Swanepoel, Joan Smalls, Anok Yai and more walked the runway wearing a few variations of clear Amina Muaddi heels.
Jenner, Smalls and Swanepoel wore the Alexa Glass 95 PVC mules, while Yai wore a slingback sandal iteration of the shoes.
Just a day before the Victoria’s Secret show, Alexa Demie and Tracee Ellis Ross walked the red carpet at the 6th Annual Academy Museum Gala, also in Los Angeles. While the event required a more black-tie dress code than the lingerie fashion show, the actresses still opted for a dainty pair of clear sandals to complete their designer looks.
Ross showed off a vibrant tangerine Balenciaga spring 2027 dress with cascading diamond-shaped fringe details hanging from it. Her choice of minimalist, clear slip-on mules allowed the dress to take center stage.
Like Ross, Demie also wanted her dress to be the focal point for the Academy Museum Gala. The “Euphoria” star wore a custom light-blue Chanel gown. The feathered and draped piece featured side cutouts and a high-leg slit. She paired the delicate dress with the barely there Aquazzura So Nude plexi sandals.
Shay Mitchell followed suit at the Fourth Annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit held at the Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 14 in Los Angeles. She wore the Sei Cami Gown in a soft bubblegum pink with a slit and a cape, paired with the same clear Aquazzura sandals, which gently peeked through the hem of her dress.
While over-the-top and maximalist shoes were all the rave at Paris Fashion Week in September, Supriya Ganesh kept it subtle with her shoes to attend the Akris spring 2027 fashion show on Oct. 4. “The Pitt” star paired an electric, parrot green ribbed turtleneck sweater and pleated midi skirt set by the Swiss fashion house with Gianvito Rossi Metropolis sandals, which feature TPU transparent straps that wrap around the foot. The shoes are among the designer’s most popular offerings, along with the Elle mule, which is another one of their clear shoe options.
The clear shoe trend has even reached men’s footwear. On Oct. 8, Alexander Skarsgard attended the screening of his new movie “Wicker” during the 70th BFI London Film Festival in a pair of transparent lace-up dress shoes from Saint Laurent’s spring 2027 men’s collection.
He paired the see-through lace-up derbies in TPU with a gold Saint Laurent jacket sans undershirt and matching metallic tailored pants.
Minimalist shoes have been an ongoing trend for the last few years; however, it seems like the footwear industry is turning away from that and offering options with more color, embellishments, jewels and more, that veer us away from barely-there shoes. Still, it seems like the clear shoe trend has taken hold as an option for those who want a less flashy shoe that catches the eye in a different way. For more clear shoe celebrity moments from over the years, take a look below.