When new trends seemingly appear out of nowhere, they’re generally a metamorphosis of an existing must-have style that has developed into the latest iteration. Of course, ballet flats have been back on fashion’s radar for the last couple of years, and the mesh shoe trend seems to be an evolution on this. Designer brands like Khaite, Alaïa and The Row have all been toying with the trend and have released early mesh versions; some embellished, some pure and simple. Since these designs arrived, there’s been a slow and steady rise of styles appearing across more mid-range independent brands like Dear Frances (their ridiculously chic Balla mesh flats are now a sellout success with a waitlist) and Loeffler Randall too. To start with, I can’t deny the whole WWWUK team were a little taken aback by this controversial, toe-baring trend, but we can now officially say we’ve retracted our initial reservations and (most of us) have been fully won over by the surprisingly delicate and refined look that a sheer flat shoe can add to an outfit.
