Slingback Heels Are Trending at the Venice Film Festival 2025

Kim Kardashian, Heidi Klum, Amal Clooney and more celebrities have touched down at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, showing off a bevy of timeless slingback heels. Although slingback pumps are a classic shoe, the footwear style has been having a moment in the last couple of years.

Now at the 82nd edition of the Italian film festival, which kicked off on Wednesday and will be held through Sept. 6, the stars have walked the red carpet and have been spotted around town wearing slingback designs from Saint Laurent, Aquazzura, Betsey Johnson, Prada and more.

A slingback heel is characterized by its open back and a strap that wraps around the heel to secure the shoe in place, making them safer to walk in than a mule and providing more coverage on the toe box than a sandal. The strap and the open heel create a more flirtatious silhouette than traditional pumps or closed-back heels.

The slingback style dates back to 1940s and are said to have been made popular by pin-up girls who wore shoes to show off their bare heels. It was only a matter of time before the shoe became embedded in pop culture, and in the 1950s, celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot, Ann-Margret Olsson and Jackie Kennedy, became fans of the style. Then in 1957, the shoe transformed into a footwear staple when Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel created the now-classic two-tone slingback style with a block heel.

The shoes have since continued to be reinvented and elevated by a variety of luxury shoe designers, and while sandals and platforms continued to be the footwear of choice for red carpet events like the Venice Film Festival, the slingback pumps have been a popular choice this year. Take a look.

Kim Kardashian

Kardashian arrived at the airport in Venice on Thursday wearing a black hooded dress and Saint Laurent’s Vendome 110 patent leather slingback pumps. The shoes, which retail for $1,150, are crafted from glossy patent leather, and feature a sharp pointed toe, a sleek flared stiletto heel measuring 110mm, and an elasticized slingback strap.

Heidi Klum

Klum slipped into her go-to red carpet heels at the 2025 Venice Film Festival on Wednesday. She opted for the Aquazzura So Nude Sandals in the shade “Pink.” The simple two strap style is made from supple Nappa leather in fresh powder pink, features a strap across the toes and a slingback strap around the heel, and sits upon a leg-lengthening stiletto heel.

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig opted for Prada’s brushed leather slingback pumps for the “Jay Kelly” photo call on Thursday. These pointy-toed slingbacks feature the triangle logo, reinterpreted as a three-dimensional leather ornament, on the upper and include a varnished heel measuring 100mm.

Amal Clooney

Clooney was spotted arriving ahead of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival 2025 alongside her husband George Clooney on Tuesday. The lawyer wore the white version of Gerwig’s Prada slingback shoes, which retail for $1,200.

Fernanda Torres

Fernanda Torres wore a pair of Giorgio Armani slingbacks made from supple, smooth leather on Wednesday. The pointed toe style feature a slightly asymmetric top line, and a comfortable-height stiletto heel measuring 2.5 inches. The ankle strap travels up the side of the foot and wraps around the ankle.

Barbara Palvin

Barbara Palvin wore a pair of affordable embellished slingback heels by Betsey Johnson. She wore the brand’s Nikki, a pointed-toe silhouette with a see-through black mesh upper embroidered with intricate black beadwork. The shoes retail for $129 and are set on a lower flared heel measuring three inches and feature a V-cut vamp.

Check out other celebrities who have been spotted wearing slingback heels.