Bella Hadid styles a runway dress for Saint-Tropez in flats

Bella Hadid just gave the capsule wardrobe a beach address: a black midi dress, $180 thong sandals, and a woven black shoulder bag in Saint-Tropez with her brother Anwar Hadid. It is polished without trying too hard, and that is exactly why it works. The look feels less like a fleeting celebrity sighting and more like a repeatable summer formula you could pack, wear, and wear again.

The exact formula that makes the outfit work

The center of the look is a black midi Massimo Dutti dress with a subtly plunging V neckline and a subtle slit. That combination matters. The neckline keeps it from reading severe, while the slit adds movement and a little air around the legs, which is what a long dress needs if you are wearing it somewhere warm and bright like Saint-Tropez. It is the kind of shape that can go from lunch to dinner without asking for a costume change, which is the real test for capsule dressing.

The sandals are where the outfit shifts from pretty to practical. Hadid wore Massimo Dutti Flat Leather Sandals, a $180 black thong style with a toe separator, leather lining and insole, a rounded slightly squared sole, visible edge stitching, a slim toe post, a wide curved strap across the foot, and a low stacked heel that lifts the back just enough. That is a lot of detail for a flat, but the details are the point: this is a shoe designed to look sleek, not sporty, and to feel easy, not precious.

Why this reads as a real capsule piece, not just a celebrity outfit

The Saint-Tropez look lands because it is built from familiar, repeatable parts. Black dress. Black sandal. Black bag. Gold jewelry. Done. There is no overworked styling trick here, no neon accessory trying to steal the scene. The woven bag adds texture, the stacked gold bangles and oversized earrings bring warmth, and the layered necklaces, including a vintage Chanel pendant with interlocking C’s, keep the neckline from feeling bare.

That is what makes the outfit strong for everyday dressing: each piece can do double duty. The dress can work with heeled sandals for dinner, the sandals can anchor linen trousers or cropped jeans, and the woven bag can bounce between vacation and city life without looking out of place. It is an outfit with a low decision load, which is exactly what makes capsule wardrobes useful when summer gets busy and you want to stop overthinking everything.

The shoe choice is the real headline

Hadid’s flats hit harder because of where she has just been. In the days before Saint-Tropez, she was wearing much dressier shoes in Cannes, including Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami d’Orsay pumps with a spring 2003 Louis Vuitton dress, black pumps with a Tom Ford look, white Prada pumps for the Garance premiere, Jimmy Choo tortoiseshell Ixia 95 pumps, and metallic Puma Speedcats with a vintage Prada Sport set. That run of footwear makes the Saint-Tropez shift feel intentional, not accidental. She went from red-carpet height to flat, vacation-weight leather, and the outfit immediately became more wearable.

WWD has long treated Hadid as a Cannes regular and a serious footwear reference point, the kind of person who can move from sneakers to stiletto sandals, kitten-heel mules, and boots without losing the plot. That range is what makes this moment useful to readers. The same person who can carry a dramatic heel on the carpet can also make a flat sandal feel desirable, which is proof that flats are not the consolation prize anymore.

Why thong sandals are still sticking around

Thong sandals have been hanging on because they are easy to style and they keep showing up on the right kind of people. WWD has previously pointed to celebrities including Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Bella Hadid as part of the reason the silhouette keeps staying visible. This is not a novelty trend. It has already crossed from runway curiosity into the kind of shoe that can anchor a summer wardrobe without feeling like a one-season punch line.

Massimo Dutti’s current U.S. site reinforces that reading by listing the Flat Leather Sandals with leather lining and insole, a toe separator, and STARFIT® insole technology, which gives the shoe a more walkable, everyday angle. That matters when you compare it with more fashion-forward thong sandals that lean delicate or barely-there. This pair is not trying to disappear on the foot. It has enough structure to read finished, and enough restraint to keep pace with a dressier capsule wardrobe.

What this look says about summer 2026 dressing

The broader runway mood helps explain why the outfit feels current. WWD’s Spring/Summer 2026 runway coverage has been full of wearable, vacation-friendly directions, from lingerie-inspired pieces to ’90s minis and craft-driven dressing. That mix has pushed fashion toward clothes that feel styled without feeling complicated. A black midi dress with a smart flat sandal fits right into that conversation because it reads as simple, but not boring.

The key is that the formula balances polish and ease. The dress has enough shape to stand alone. The sandals keep it grounded. The woven bag makes it feel seasonally correct without screaming beach tote. If you are building a capsule wardrobe, this is the kind of outfit that proves a trend has value when it can survive outside a photo call.

Who this actually works for

This formula works best if your summer wardrobe already leans clean, minimal, and unfussy. It is especially good if you like black, keep your accessories restrained, and want pieces that can move through lunch, travel, and dinner without changing character. If you usually rely on oversized shirts, little white dresses, or sporty sandals, this look gives you a sharper option that still feels relaxed.

You can also swap it into different style lanes without breaking the formula:

• Replace the black midi with a bias-cut slip dress if you want more drape and less structure.
• Swap the woven bag for a leather top-handle if you need the look to move from resort to city.
• Trade the thong flats for low-heel mules if you want a little more lift, but keep the silhouette streamlined.
• If black feels too heavy in heat, the same shape works in chocolate, ivory, or deep olive as long as the lines stay clean.

Should you buy the trend now or just admire it on vacation photos?

Buy it if you want a shoe and dress combination that can work beyond one trip. Hadid’s Saint-Tropez look is not selling fantasy. It is selling utility with taste. The flats are simple enough to repeat, the dress shape is easy to wear on a hot day, and the accessories are classic enough to keep the whole thing from going stale fast.

Skip it if you only want dramatic fashion moments. This is not the outfit for anyone chasing spectacle. But if you want a summer uniform that reduces friction, packs light, and still looks like you know exactly what you are doing, Bella Hadid just made the case for buying the capsule version now.