These Controversial Ballerina Flats Are Now On Every New Yorker’s Wishlist Because of Chloe Sevigny

One of my favorite kinds of texts to get as a fashion editor is a series of blurry, barely legible images of accessories or garments one of my friends is desperately trying to identify. Sometimes they’re rogue images of strangers taken on the street. Other times they’re screenshots from social media.“What brand is this?” “Where can I get something similar?” “Is this vintage?” It’s cool to think they trust me so much and fun to try and play a game of fashion clue.

It is also nice when they send me something I instantly know the answer to because we both get some immediate gratification. I can pat myself on the back for knowing exactly what the item is and they can get the answer to their question instantly. This happened a handful of times when Chloë Sevigny wore a pair of chunky black lace-up ballerina flats on repeat for the past couple of months. The exact pair were Ecco Biom C-Trails, designed by her friend and former Chloé creative director, Natacha Ramsay-Levi.

I had multiple friends reach out to me to ask if they knew anything about the shoe. I told them yes, every time, and gave them the details while simultaneously expressing my dismay. When I myself saw Sevigny wearing them for the first time, I did a deep dive to try and immediately discover who made them. After I found out, I tried to buy a pair, only to realize Sevigny had already sold them out. So my texts to inquiring minds would go something like: “Yes, they’re by Ecco. They’re only $250 but sold out, I would know. I need them desperately.”

Now the shoe is finally back in stock after what feels like an eternity, and in a new white colorway as well. Sevigny is also modeling the shoes formally for the brand’s latest Icons That Last campaign. When I spoke to her earlier this week about it, she told me it all came about very naturally. She already loved the shoes.

“The company noticed that I kept getting photographed in the shoes,” she told me. “There was a lot of interest. They saw that as an opportunity to reach a certain audience that maybe they didn’t have. They asked me to do [the campaign] and I brought my friends. Haley Wollens styled it and Brianna Capozzi took the pictures. We just wanted to make fun pictures. They were a bit sexy…we want to sell a fashion fantasy, which we love and totally buy into. We went to LA and shot at this crazy house, and it was super fun.”

As for the newest shoes from the Spring/Summer 2025 collection that just dropped, she’s of course most excited for the pale colorway of the ballerina she wears most. “I’ve always kind of fallen back on a black shoe to anchor an outfit. And I think it will be a bright new look for me to kind of have this pale, toned shoe to lighten every outfit…it’s going to be a fun kind of challenge. A new thing for me!”

And while she is a style icon for always wearing things in unexpected ways that feel so singular to Sevigny specifically, she values practicality. It’s probably why she looks so cool all the time, because she is wearing items that she truly lives in. She isn’t doing it to look a certain way. She’s wearing things to be herself. It’s effortless.