Queen Letizia’s First Gucci Shoes in a Decade Have a Familiar Detail

Queen Letizia returned to Gucci shoes in public on Sunday for the first time in more than a decade, wearing the house’s beige Signora slides to close the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest at La Misericordia Cultural Centre in Palma de Mallorca.

The $990 sandals left most of the foot bare, with a single band of glossy beige leather across the toes and Gucci’s gold-tone Horsebit set over the top. The front ended in a straight square edge, while the upper narrowed sharply at the instep. Black leather lining showed along the inside of the backless shoe, and a thin black outsole traced the pale leather.

The 2.2-inch block heel looked broad from the side but stayed narrow through in profile. Gucci designed the Signora as an open version of a pump, keeping the leather, squared toe and equestrian hardware while removing the heel counter.

Gold ran through the rest of the look. Letizia’s burgundy Carolina Herrera midi was gathered across its one-shoulder neckline, fitted bodice and hips, with a long gold zipper running down one side. The zipper continued into the draped skirt and ended in a teardrop-shaped pull near the opening above her knee. She added a textured, metallic Zoena box clutch in the same tone.

The Signora is only the second Gucci shoe style documented in Letizia’s wardrobe, and it shares one recognizable detail with the first. She wore the house’s black leather Jolene mid-heel pumps in January 2015 and again in January 2016. Those were closed, round-toe pumps, but Gucci’s gold Horsebit sat across the vamp in much the same place. A decade later, the hardware has returned on a square-toe summer slide.

Letizia has spent much of the summer in Calzados Picón espadrille wedges, wearing navy, black and natural versions in July. Even when she left the jute soles at home, she stayed with moderate heels: her trusty red Magrit slingbacks for the World Cup final, taupe Massimo Dutti sandals at Adolfo Domínguez’s 50th anniversary and white Sézane Mary Janes for an Instituto Cervantes meeting. The Signora kept the lower block heel, but Gucci was the surprise.

Letizia attended the festival’s 16th closing gala to present the Master of Cinema Award to French composer Alexandre Desplat. The evening also included the Spanish premiere of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “El ser querido,” with Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo among the guests.