When is a sandal a sandal? And when is it simply a bit of rope tying your toes down to a slim little sole like a Greek-passing extra on the set of The Odyssey? This is the question we need to ask ourselves now, because there’s a max-minimal sandal on the rise that somehow makes the Havaianas flip-flop look conservative (and Birkenstock downright matronly).

Call it the Slutty Little Sandal, if you will. It melds a simple system of cord straps with a petite footbed for a streamlined silhouette that meets the moment — specifically, the meltingly hot moment, when all we want to do is wear as little as possible, especially on our trotters. 

In a way, this newly popular style is a return to form: humanity’s earliest footwear was little more than rope connected to a flat sole. We’ve seen brands toe the line between just how little shoe you can do and still be a shoe. There was the surprise hype around last year’s Montbell Lock-On sandal and the Balenciaga Zero (which is only a shoe if you squint), and then whatever that Chanel heel strap was in its Cruise collection. 

But it’s time to get serious. Strappy little sandals were only the next logical step in the primal urge for bare-basics footwear. Luckily, the current kingmaker driving the shoe’s popularity isn’t a luxury label charging an arm and a foot, like Miu Miu’s $995 Rivière or Michael Rider’s mysterious leather iteration, first seen in the Celine Spring/Summer 2027 menswear collection (which, judging by the brand’s elevated takes on other basic footwear, will not be cheap). 

Instead, it’s been the $49.99 Xero Shoes Genesis that’s driving the rise of this barely-there style, made by a company whose origin story begins not with a runway but rather on the reality TV series Shark Tank. 

Its founders, Steven Sashen and Lena Phoenix, appeared on the show in 2013 to pitch their “original barefoot” shoe and saw it written off as “a piece of rubber [and] a piece of string.” Over a decade later, Xero Shoes has raised over $23 million and become a hit among those looking to wear as little shoe as possible.

With both the Genesis and its limited-edition J.Crew collection — an update on the base model featuring summer-friendly patterns and colors — selling out in multiple sizes, it’s clear this sandal style is on a hot streak. With the release of its latest collab with sophisticated sportswear brand Literary Sport, this time upgrading the cording with navy leather accented by a polished silver bead, it's clear that this simple shoe is attracting more than just your local granola-crunching hippie crowd.

Sure, the basic flip-flop may still be ten times more fashionable than it has any right to be right now — even creeping onto The Lyst Index via the Havaianas boom — and performance sandals may still be the preferred style for more activewear-inclined shoppers, but watch this space: The Slutty Little Sandal will have its day in the sun.

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