An actress toed the line between tacky and trendy with her bizarre choice of red-carpet footwear.

Margaret Qualley attended the London premiere of her new film, The Dog Stars, on August 20 wearing Chanel’s controversial “barefoot” sandals.

The 31-year-old star, whose parents are actress Andie MacDowell and former model Paul Qualley, became the first major celebrity to wear the French fashion house’s divisive design.

She wore a black Chanel gown with a plunging V-neckline and allover fringe detailing for the occasion. She wore her deep-brown hair straight and kept her makeup simple, with a diffused rosy-brown lip color, a sheer wash of rose blush, and delicately winged black eyeliner.

But it was her footwear—or lack thereof—that immediately grabbed attention.

The style, often called “barefoot sandals,” features a minimalist leather heel cap with thin straps that tie around the ankle. It leaves the entire sole and toes completely bare.

Fashion commentator Nicky Campbell, whose followers call him “the Joan Rivers of TikTok,” quickly expressed his enthusiasm in an Instagram video.

Campbell, 29, said Qualley looks “stunning in Chanel,” adding that he is “deeply obsessed” with the style. His comment section was divided, however.

One follower wrote, “Shoes? They’re heel pads at best,” while another said, “Totally unusable. I get the whimsy, but these aren’t it.”Meanwhile, another commenter raised safety concerns, writing, “Not healthy for foot care,” noting “red carpets are nasty,” and worrying about accidentally stepping on glass or nails. Fellow critics deemed her footwear “unsanitary.”

Still, others defended the Chanel shoe. Stylist Kim Russell wrote, “Everyone’s so close-minded. Can’t people have fun, weird, hideous shoes anymore?!”

Other commenters said they love the look, while one wrote, “Just fabulous.”

A supporter even praised celebrity stylist Danielle Goldberg, who dressed Qualley for the event, for being “bold enough to send these down a red carpet.”

Qualley, an official Chanel ambassador since 2020, first walked the runway for the brand in 2011 when she was 17 years old. Since then, the actress has also walked in the brand’s Haute Couture show in 2021 and opened the Spring/Summer Haute Couture 2024 collection in January that year as the bride.

The shoe sparked criticism when Chanel unveiled the style during its Cruise 2026/2027 show in Biarritz, France on April 26.

The French luxury fashion house wrote in the show notes that creative director Matthieu Blazy “wanted to evoke the down-to-earth feeling of a woman coming out of the beach or the sea.” It said that the design would achieve “shoes that almost look like jewelry.

Andie MacDowell, 68, and Paul Qualley, 68, met in 1985 on a photo shoot for Gap and were married one year later.

The couple, who divorced in 1999 after 13 years of marriage, share three children: Justin, 40, Rainey, 37, and Margaret, 31.