Anna Kendrick Pairs Muted Slingback Pumps & Manolo Blahnik Nadiras for TIFF Double-Header

Anna Kendrick showed two very different sides of her red-carpet style at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2026, while promoting the comedy-drama films Babies and Misty Green.

At the Babies premiere, Kendrick embraced earthy sophistication in a striking Mary Katrantzou dress grounded by brown pointed-toe slingback pumps. For Misty Green, she shifted to classic black eveningwear, pairing a fitted column dress with sparkling Manolo Blahnik crystal pumps.

Anna Kendrick contrasts earthy texture in a richly embellished Mary Katrantzou dress for the Babies premiere with sleek black eveningwear for Misty Green at TIFF on September 12, 2026 (Credit: Isabelle Vautier / Isabelle Vautier / Starface Photo / Cover Images)

Brown Slingback Pumps Ground Anna Kendrick’s Elaborate Mary Katrantzou Dress

For the Babies premiere, Anna Kendrick let her elaborate Mary Katrantzou dress take the lead, grounding its rich colors and intricate embellishment with understated brown pumps.

The shoes featured the high-cut vamp associated with modern glove pumps, wrapping higher over the foot for a streamlined silhouette. Pointed toes sharpened the shape, while slim slingback straps and slender stiletto heels kept the substantial vamp from looking heavy.

Anna Kendrick grounds her elaborate Mary Katrantzou dress with brown pointed-toe pumps featuring high-cut glove-style vamps, slim slingback straps, and stiletto heels (Credit: Isabelle Vautier / Starface Photo / Cover Images)

The restrained footwear made sense against a dress that already had plenty to examine. Mary Katrantzou, the Greek designer known for intricate prints and visually elaborate surfaces, turned the strapless bodice into the focal point with a heavily textured oval panel covered in multicolored embroidery and beadwork.

Its abstract, landscape-like composition brought together earthy colors and intricate patterns without requiring additional statement accessories. The decorated panel contrasted with the rich brown moiré fabric surrounding it, whose rippled surface created a woodgrain-like effect.

That same brown fabric continued into the voluminous tea-length skirt, allowing the quieter brown pumps to extend the dress’s earthy palette rather than compete with it.

Kendrick finished the look with a high updo and loose face-framing tendrils. She left her neck bare, keeping attention on the intricate bodice, while delicate earrings and several rings supplied a restrained touch of sparkle.

Anna Kendrick lets Mary Katrantzou’s richly embroidered landscape-inspired bodice command attention, using understated brown pointed slingback pumps to complement the moiré tea-length skirt at the 2026 TIFF premiere of Babies (Credit: Isabelle Vautier / Starface Photo / Cover Images)

Kendrick has used this balance before. At TIFF in 2015, she similarly paired an eye-catching sequined mini dress with sleek pointed-toe Paul Andrew Zenadia pumps, showing how a sharply shaped but relatively restrained shoe can anchor a more decorative dress.

Manolo Blahnik Nadira Crystal Pumps Add Sparkle to Anna Kendrick’s Black Dress

For the Misty Green premiere, Kendrick moved in the opposite direction, trading the earthy colors and tactile detailing of her Babies outfit for a streamlined black evening look.

Kendrick stepped out in the Manolo Blahnik “Nadira” pumps, a crystal-embellished style that Best Quality Luxury Shoes Online Store has also spotted on Nicole Kidman and Natalie Alyn Lind.

Her pair was in black satin, with pointed toes and slender 3.5-inch stiletto heels that created a sleek silhouette. The defining detail was the asymmetrical crystal leaf embellishment sweeping across the vamp, adding sparkle without overwhelming the minimalist black dress.

Anna Kendrick adds sparkle to her monochrome Misty Green premiere look with black satin Manolo Blahnik Nadira pumps, distinguished by pointed toes and asymmetrical crystal leaf embellishments (Credit: Captive Camera / Cover Images)

The Manolo Blahnik Nadira pumps retail for $1,395 and are available in several satin colorways, including black, beige, pink, and green. Shop the available Nadira pumps at Mytheresa.

Manolo Blahnik Nadira embellished satin pumps in beige, black, pink, and green show how the pointed-toe crystal pump changes across four satin colorways

Kendrick paired the crystal pumps with a tailored black column dress that hugged her figure before falling straight to her ankles. A sheer nude illusion panel bridged the plunging V-shaped neckline, while crystal-embellished shoulder straps echoed the jeweled detailing on her shoes.

The long, uninterrupted silhouette also complemented Kendrick’s petite 5-foot-1 frame. Pointed pumps, a slim stiletto heel, and the straight column of black fabric all reinforced the same elongated vertical line rather than visually breaking it at the ankle.

Kendrick has repeatedly returned to pointed pumps for formal appearances, including Jimmy Choo’s pointed-toe Darilyn pumps, which she previously used to anchor another statement dress. The Nadira follows the same basic formula but adds considerably more decoration through its crystal-covered vamp.

Anna kept her neck bare and accessorized with geometric fan-shaped drop earrings featuring black accents. A few rings completed the jewelry, while her hair was swept into a neat bun that left the plunging neckline and embellished straps unobstructed.

Anna Kendrick coordinates the crystal shoulder straps of her plunging black column dress with sparkling Manolo Blahnik Nadira pumps at the 2026 TIFF premiere of Misty Green (Credit: Captive Camera / Cover Images)

Why Pointed-Toe Pumps Keep Working on the Red Carpet

Kendrick’s two TIFF looks demonstrate how the same basic pump silhouette can play very different roles. With Mary Katrantzou’s richly embellished dress, the brown slingbacks receded into the earthy palette, letting the clothing remain the focal point. With the minimalist black column dress, the crystal-covered Manolo Blahnik Nadira pumps became part of the decoration themselves.

What connects the two is proportion. Pointed toes draw the eye beyond the natural end of the foot, while slim heels add height without introducing the visual weight of a block heel or platform. On a petite frame like Kendrick’s, those details can create a longer, cleaner line beneath a dress.

The effect becomes even more pronounced with a low-cut or open vamp. By exposing more of the top of the foot, the shoe creates less of a visual break between leg and toe. It’s a formula seen repeatedly in celebrity footwear: Zendaya’s Christian Louboutin So Kate pumps combine a low-cut vamp, sharply pointed toe, and towering stiletto, while Victoria Beckham has used similarly streamlined Casadei Blade and Manolo Blahnik BB pumps with everything from fluid dresses to precise tailoring.

Kendrick has long favored the same basic proportions. Her Jimmy Choo Darilyn pumps paired a narrow pointed toe and slender heel with a d’Orsay cut that exposed the arch, allowing the shoes to anchor both a graphic Vionnet dress and a tailored pantsuit without competing with either.

That versatility helps explain why pointed stilettos survive changes in shoe trends. A clean pump can sharpen tailoring, add polish to a shorter hemline, or quietly sit beneath an elaborate evening dress. The shoe doesn’t have to be plain, either: Kendrick’s crystal Nadiras preserve that streamlined foundation while turning the vamp itself into jewelry.

For her two TIFF premieres, that distinction made all the difference. One pair of pumps disappeared into the warm brown palette; the other supplied the sparkle. In both cases, the pointed toe and slim heel did the same underlying job: keeping the silhouette sharp, balanced, and focused on the clothes.