Saint Laurent’s Joe Boot Is Summer’s Hottest Shoe—Literally
This week’s weather—across the city and beyond—can be summed up in one word: sauna. It’s the kind of hot, sticky, unforgiving climate that makes dressing stylishly feel almost laughable. When your primary goal is to not melt into the pavement, the idea of squeezing into over-the-knee leather boots sounds more like fashion masochism than a style statement.
And yet—here we are. The most talked-about shoe of the summer isn’t a strappy sandal or mesh ballet flat. It’s a tall, brooding, thigh-high leather boot courtesy of Saint Laurent. Meet the Joe Boot: dramatic, unapologetic, and (yes, really) the “It” shoe of the season.
Originally unveiled during Saint Laurent’s Fall 2025 menswear show earlier this year, the Joe Boot stormed the runway paired with razor-sharp tailoring and pleated trousers tucked deep into its waterproof leather frame. It was bold, deliberate, and—at over $4,000 USD—a statement in every sense of the word.
But no one expected it to explode this early.
Despite being made for colder weather, the Joe Boot has made a dramatic off-season debut. A growing list of celebrities has already pulled them on—even as the heat index climbs.
Fashion aficionados will remember Pedro Pascal was among the first to slip into them, wearing the boots to the premiere of The Last of Us Season 2 back in March. But it was Alexander Skarsgård, appearing at the Cannes Film Festival this May in full black-tie attire—Joe Boots included—who really turned heads. Sure, stars borrowing straight off the runway is nothing new. But braving sweltering red carpets in knee-hugging leather? That’s another level of dedication.
And it’s not just actors. Fashion icon and professional wild dresser Marc Jacobs—who’s never met a shoe too extreme—recently posted himself trying on the Joe Boot at home. “If the Joe fits…” he quipped in the caption, sharing photos of himself knee-deep in black leather. “They’re savage!”
What makes the Joe Boot so hot—besides the literal temperature—is its power to instantly elevate anything. It’s goth, it’s glam, it’s genderless. Pair it with a boxy suit, a sheer mini, or even just a bathrobe, and suddenly you’re channeling a bit of Berlin nightlife with a splash of Paris runway polish.
So yes, you may be melting in the subway while wearing linen and praying for fall. But somewhere, someone is stomping through the summer heat in $4,000 Saint Laurent thigh-highs—and they look incredible doing it.