Venus Williams added another shape to New York Fashion Week’s growing sculptural heel run on Friday, attending Simkhai’s spring 2027 show in strappy black sandals with a thick, flared heel.
The tennis champion’s glossy sandals had two narrow straps across the toes, set close together at the inner edge of the foot and farther apart toward the outside, creating a slight V shape. A slim strap around each ankle helped keep the footwear in place, with another section extending down to the sole just ahead of the heel.
From the front, the shoes looked like minimalist evening sandals. From the side, the thick heels were narrower through the middle and wider at the bottom, a departure from a straight block heel or the slim stiletto that comes with a classic pump — another silhouette that has been seeing a resurgence during New York Fashion Week.
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Williams’ choice followed two other experiments with heel shape earlier in the week. At Wednesday’s CFDA kickoff at Rockefeller Plaza, Brooks Nader paired an archival black Dolce & Gabbana lace dress with glossy pointed pumps that appeared to be Schutz’s Lexi style. Her heels curved inward before widening slightly at the base, with a profile that looked broad from the side and narrow from behind.
Amanda Seyfried took a different approach at Tory Burch’s Thursday show, wearing brown peep-toe pumps with twisted heels and an asymmetric opening that exposed only the big toe. Across the three appearances, familiar black sandals and neutral pumps came with considerably less conventional silhouettes and shapes.
Williams kept her clothing black, too, wearing a sleeveless Simkhai fall 2026 minidress with a high neckline and overlapping rows of small, petal-like pieces. She carried the label’s gold Monet shell clutch, with its rounded, ridged surface, and wore a Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra bracelet.
Inside the show, Jonathan Simkhai explored texture through rubberized floral lace, coated denim and leather fringe. Accessories were part of that experimentation, with ostrich feathers on boots and metal-framed bags. Speaking backstage to WWD, the designer said accessories have been “really, really strong,” with boots in particular gaining traction.
