Ballet flats for men, on the edge of audacity

Long reserved for women, this dance-inspired shoe now adorns the feet of male models on the catwalk, from Balenciaga to Thom Browne, via MM6 Maison Margiela and Dries Van Noten. Like the dramatic episodes of “Dance of the Knights,” from Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (1935), young models moved forward with expressionless faces. On this January afternoon, for the Dior Men Fall-Winter 2024-2025 show, they donned striped double-breasted coats, wool mini-shorts with long zipped flies, sophisticated turbans and brocade and toile de Jouy capes. On their feet were ballet flats, in leather or quilted satin, with or without a crossed elastic band at the front. Read more at Le Monde.