Simone Ashley swaps sandals for slingback Mary Janes at Cannes
Simone Ashley made the smartest Cannes shoe switch of the week, trading flimsy sandals for $620 slingback Mary Janes that work from flight to red carpet.
Sandals had no chance against Simone Ashley’s black slingback Mary Janes. At Cannes, where every polished outfit still has to survive cobblestones, stairs, and a ridiculous amount of walking, Ashley picked the shoe that looks sharp without begging for an emergency foot change by midnight.
She was photographed at Hotel Martinez on Wednesday, May 13, during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, and the whole look was a clean argument for smarter summer dressing. Ashley wore Toteme’s black slingback satin Mary Janes, a $620 style that taps the current low-profile shoe mood without going soft. The brand’s hybrid take on the Mary Jane and the slingback is exactly why it works: the strap keeps the shoe anchored, the open heel keeps it lighter than a closed pump, and the satin finish gives it enough gloss for Cannes without sliding into costume territory.
The rest of the outfit made the shoe choice even better. Ashley wore a white crinkled knit tank dress with a scoop neck and knee-length hemline, then threw Toteme’s off-white draped satin trench from the label’s spring 2026 runway over the top. It was the kind of layering that reads easy instead of overworked, the sort of thing that can leave a New York hotel, clear an airport lounge, and still hold its shape at dinner on the Croisette. Lanvin cat-eye sunglasses added a little bite, and a black leather Tod’s bag kept the palette strict and expensive-looking.
That is the real Cannes move here. The festival, which ran from May 12 to May 23 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, opened on Tuesday with Park Chan-wook as jury president and Jane Fonda and Gong Li helping declare it open. In that kind of setting, shoes are never just shoes. Ashley’s pair landed right in the middle of a bigger shift toward flatter, lower-profile styles, the same lane that has been pulling Mary Janes, ballet flats, and slingbacks back into the conversation with more traction than any spindly sandal could manage.
Ashley has also been in the middle of a loud promotional run for The Devil Wears Prada 2, including a New York City press day where she wore five different looks and multiple footwear changes. She had already shown up at the film’s world premiere in Prada, but Cannes was the cleaner, smarter flex: less fuss, more function, and a shoe that actually earns its place in a suitcase.
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