To call this a bold fashion choice would be an understatement.
Actor Alexander Skarsgard showed up to the annual BFI London Film Festival for an Oct. 8 screening of his upcoming romantic fantasy movie “Wicker.” But his look quickly became a focus of the event as he rocked a pair of see-through oxford shoes on the red carpet.
The shoes unsurprisingly elicited a range of responses from disgust to extreme lust.
Skarsgard’s transparent black shoes, which featured vinyl laces, were paired with a gold, metallic suit.
The oxfords, from fashion house Saint Laurent’s spring 2027 collection, made waves earlier this year when they debuted on the runway at men’s Paris fashion week in June.
Corrado De Biase, the brand’s freelance design director of shoes, explained that the look is called “O. Fan,” after adult online platform OnlyFans. The shoes, he told Women’s Wear Daily, are a celebration of sexuality in the gay community.
“Because Monsieur Saint Laurent himself was really linked to those young community people when he was young,” De Biase told the outlet. “So it’s normal that a brand like us looks at that kind of thing. It’s been part of the house from the beginning.”
Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello had a snarkier explanation for the footwear.
“I asked myself: ‘Why torture women with plastic shoes, but not men?’” Vaccarello said, according to WWD.
People across the internet had their own interpretations of the look. Some couldn’t help but wonder how Skarsgard was faring in the no-doubt sweaty shoes.
Others were just thirsting over the fashion choice.
“Oo our steak is too juicy, our lobster is too buttery, Alexander Skarsgaard is showing too much foot,” one commenter wrote on Instagram.
Well, 2026 appears to be the year of the gutsy red carpet footwear. Margaret Qualley sported a pair of Chanel’s “shoeless shoes” to the world premiere of “The Dog Stars” in August. The shoes were essentially black heels that were strapped to Qualley’s feet with two sets of laces and no soles.
While some deemed the shoes as chic, others joked that the barely-there footwear was a sign of “shrinkflation.”
