Dhelicate, but not at all harmless. The ballerinas with strap and buckle have crossed 2025 with a decisive step, confirming themselves a trend also for Autumn-Winter 2025 2026 and conquering both those who love the lightness of balletcore and those looking for a shoe with a more urban character. It is the meeting between two worlds: the classic romanticism of Mary Janes and the rebellious verve of metallic details.
The ballerina, the bourgeois shoe par excellence in the 2000s, then went viral again with the balletcore and the reinterpretations of high fashion brands. Today the bucklewhich in the past closed children’s shoes (hence the name Mary Jane), it becomes a stylistic sign: not only functional, but decorative, capable of changing the identity of the model.
Mary Jane or ballerina with buckle?
The two categories touch each other but do not coincide. The Mary Jane can be recognized by the strap that crosses the instep (often with a buckle or button), while theto dancer with buckle can play with freer interpretations: ankle, multiple, diagonal or just decorative. A technical detail which however affects the style: the former evoke the preppy and school world, the latter speak a more casual languagewith an androgynous touch. Which also allows him to follow multiple trends at the same timefrom the countrycore to the return of studs, to the most popular animal prints on the catwalks.
The trend, loud and clear
On the Autumn Winter 2025-2026 catwalks, the buckle stood out. Chunky and modern, with Monolith-style sculpted soles, from Prada, where they give character to light skirts and fluid trousers. In satin or paint, with jewel buckles for evening, as in the Miu Miu and Simone Rocha proposals. Or in suede or burnished leather, with silver or engraved buckles that recall the western spirit, from Chloé to Isabel Marant. The ballerina with buckle is a hybrid shoe that speaks multiple languages at the same time: girlish, sophisticated, even a little rebellious.
How to match the most versatile ballet flats for Autumn-Winter 2025 2026
The ballet flats with strap and buckle they adapt to very different looksmoving naturally from day to evening. In the versions in shiny skin or painted it’s perfect with tailored trousers cropped and soft shirts, for essential elegance. Those who prefer a more preppy approach can choose it in red or burgundy, combined with miniskirts and opaque socks, for a scholastic but refined effect.
Suede ballerina, Zara.
The suede variants, however, add a western touch to urban looks: they work with the dark denim and a tweed blazer, but also with a masculine white shirt left slightly unbuttoned.
In the eveningthe satin ballet flat with jeweled buckle finds its natural dimension next to midi dresses in velvet or fluid satinwhere the buckle becomes a discreet protagonist, a luminous detail that captures the light with charm.