Lori Harvey Gives the Ballet Flat Trend an Animal Print Twist in Alaïa

Lori Harvey traded her recent run of sharp red carpet heels for a flatter line on Saturday in Los Angeles, stepping out in Alaïa’s leopard haircalf Criss-Cross ballet flats with a stripped-back workout look.

Harvey’s pair came in tawny leopard-print haircalf with glossy black trim, a rounded toe and two slim straps that crossed over the top of the foot before fastening at the outer side with a silver buckle. A cutout opening exposed the instep, while the sole stayed thin and flat from toe to heel. Alaïa currently lists the style at $1,350, describing it as a signature Criss-Cross ballet flat as a silhouette inspired by classical Japanese shoes.

Harvey kept the rest of the outfit casual, wearing a fitted white tank with black high-waisted leggings and accessorizing with oversize dark sunglasses and a small black shoulder bag.

That shift made the choice notable inside Harvey’s recent shoe rotation. Earlier this month in Paris, she wore Balenciaga’s Duchesse pumps, a deep-V stiletto with an asymmetrical pointed toe and a narrow, severe line. In February, she wore Saint Laurent’s L’entracte slingbacks in black satin crepe, another high-cut silhouette built around an elongated point.

The Alaïa pair kept some of that exposed-instep effect, but replaced the heel and sharpened front with a softer round toe, flat sole and criss-cross strap construction.

Animal print shoes have stayed active across celebrity dressing this year, from earlier outings on Rihanna, Teyana Taylor and Angel Reese to more recent snake and python pairs worn by Kelly Rowland, Lisa Rinna, Barbara Palvin and Emily Ratajkowski. Harvey’s Alaïa pair brought that conversation down to a flat. The tawny leopard haircalf, glossy black trim and crossed buckle straps kept the same graphic charge those louder heels and booties carried, but translated it into something lower, tighter and more off-duty.