In 2026, Fashion People in Paris and NYC Will Still Be Wearing This High-Net-Worth Shoe Trend
If there’s one thing women in Paris and New York City have in common, it’s this: They know how to dress in a high-value way. Whether they’re stepping out of the Ritz or having lunch on the Upper East Side, stylish Parisians and New Yorkers are highly skilled at putting together expensive-looking outfits. Over the years, they’ve used a variety of items to achieve this, but in 2025, one of their tried-and-true tricks is patent-leather shoes—Chanel’s new moccasins being every fashion girl’s favorite.
TikTok’s favorite model-turned-chef Nara Smith is one such fan. Over the weekend, she was spotted in NYC wearing a luxurious chocolate-brown fur wrap coat, black trousers, and a pair of the viral, hard-to-find Chanel flats, which debuted on the runway at the French fashion house’s resort 2025 show in Marseille. She completed the look with a chunky gray sweater, black tights, gold jewelry, and a black top-handle clutch.
On Nara Smith: Chanel Patent Leather Moccasins ($1225)
Smith was hardly the first fashion person to put the popular shoes to work, with big-deal content creators like Veronika Heilbrunner and Sophia Roe both wearing their pairs to Chanel’s Haute Couture show that took place last week in Paris. Heilbrunner styled hers with tights adorned with floral brooches and a tweed skirt set, while Roe took a simpler approach, donning her flats with sheer tights and a leather knee-length dress.
But Chanel isn’t the only brand making footwear more elevated with the use of patent leather. Saint Laurent, Khaite, Alaïa, and Toteme all too have used the glossy material to level up their shoe collections in recent seasons, much to the delight of chic women everywhere. Scroll down to shop the best pairs on the market right now.
Shop patent-leather shoes:
Eliza Huber is an NYC-based senior fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and the intersection of sports and fashion. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 from Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a business degree from the University of Iowa. She's launched two columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top runway trends each season. Eliza lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, watching WNBA games, and scouring The RealReal for discounted Prada.
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