ON POINT: The Lanvin ballerina flat became an “It” shoe in the late 2000s and beyond — and the back story might surprise you.

Inspiration struck when Lanvin’s then creative director Alber Elbaz was preparing his debut show for the French house in 2002.

“​I was doing the fittings, there were so many pins on the floor and I wanted to protect the feet of the model, so I bought ballerinas,” the designer told WWD in a 2014 interview, adding that “in the end, it was just about protection and nothing else.”