Zoe Saldaña’s Aquazzura Moment at the ‘Lioness’ Premiere Proves Mesh Is the Quiet Answer to the Clear Shoes Trend

Zoe Saldaña embraced the “film noir” theme of the Balmain fall 2026 collection at the “Lioness” Season Three premiere in New York City on Wednesday, and found the perfect shoe to create a monochrome black look: Aquazzura‘s Love Affair pump in mesh. The materiality presents a quieter alternative to the enduring clear heels trend.

The Love Affair pump from Aquazzura, featuring a pointed toe, buckled ankle strap and stiletto heel, is a popular silhouette in the red carpet realm. FN interviewed Aquazzura’s founder and creative director Edgardo Osorio at the start of the year after the brand reintroduced the Love Affair style in mesh in 2025.

“It has a very clean, feminine and elegant line, so it works with everything, like jeans, tailoring, a red-carpet gown, and still has a personality,” Osorio said of the silhouette. “In every material from mesh, satin and patent leather, the ‘Love Affair’ is always sensual and refined at the same time, but more importantly, it’s also very comfortable to wear.”

As for the new material, the designer said, “The mesh version is like a modern whisper of the original. It keeps the same iconic silhouette, but is instantly lighter, more airy, more sensual, almost like a second skin.”

Indeed, mesh shoes can serve as a “modern whisper.” In lieu of a fully opaque classic leather heel or a completely transparent heel made of PVC or TPU, the mesh material finds a middle ground. The mesh Aquazzura Love Affair style has also been embraced by celebrities like Amal Clooney and Suki Waterhouse, who have showcased a brown colorway. In other examples of the trend, Tracee Ellis Ross recently wore black mesh mules from Giuseppe Zanotti while Emily Blunt modeled white mesh pumps from Alaïa.

At the “Lioness” Season Three premiere, Saldaña’s Aquazzura shoes were paired with a Balmain fall 2026 look: a long-sleeve black dress with a plunging V-neckline, knee-length skirt and textured ruching throughout.

Miles Socha reviewed the collection for WWD, writing of creative director Antonin Tron’s work, “His is a more approachable Balmain, with low-key fashion fierceness, and a much darker palette and spirit in line with his ‘film noir’ theme.”