These Flats Are So Good They Were Acquired by a Major Museum

It's not every day that a museum, especially one as cool as NYC's MoMA, acquires some shoes, so we're here to tell you about it. The shoes in question are none other than the quintessentially French flats made famous by none other than Brigitte Bardot (pictured above). If you guessed the Repetto Cendrillon Ballerina flats, you're correct. The shoes were just recognized by MoMA for their "excellent design" and acquired into the museum's permanent collection. Originally created in 1956, with Bardot as the inspiration for them, the shoes made their debut in her film Et Dieu Créa La Femme. All these decades later, the flats are still beloved by trend-setting celebrities like Karlie Kloss and Alexa Chung, who have been spotted wearing them on repeat over the years.
The timing is impeccable for the induction, as the brand's U.S. CEO, Gilles Assor, recently told Footwear News of his plans to make a big push in the American market. But for many fashion fans, the Cendrillon flats are already a wardrobe staple. Shop our current favorite iterations of the iconic shoes below.

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater arts. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.
-
See You in the Fall, Skinny Jeans—This Trend Is So Much Better For Summer With Flats
Casual, chic, and comfortable all in one.
-
Guess Who Just Paired the Dress Every NYC Girl Owns With 2025's Most Controversial Flat-Shoe Trend
Hint: She's very famous.
-
Put Down the Sneakers—*These* Are the Flats Everyone Everywhere Will Be Wearing With Dresses This Summer
Trust us.
-
Adam Sandler–Coded Outfits Are Still Going Strong—5 Ways to Style Baggy Shorts This Summer
Fashion icon first. Comedian second.
-
If I See You Swap Your Classic Ballet Flats for This Specific Alternative, I'll Know You Have Chic Taste
Don't think about it—just do it.
-
7 Parisian-Chic Looks I'm Copying This Summer—Even If I'm Stuck in NYC Traffic
I'm mentally in France RN.
-
Elegant Dressers in Manhattan Are Trading Suede Flats for This Equally Rich Trend
A worthy investment.
-
Before You Invest In Mesh Flats, Consider the Newer Version I Keep Seeing Fashion People in Lisbon and Miami Wearing
Copenhagen, New York, and Barcelona, too.