This was the second year of the UK barefoot shoe expo, organised by Barefoot Brit, running over the weekend of 17th and 18th October 2026. There was a fantastic line-up of brands represented as well as some foot health exhibitors and speakers on stage.
Nowhere else in the UK do you get an opportunity to try on and actually handle barefoot shoes in this quantity and variety!
I went to have a look at some brands I’m interested in, to see if there any special expo-specific discounts, and to check out children’s shoes. My husband was particularly interested in safety shoes, for which he found several options!
Some Highlights from Barefoot Brands
Hairy trainers?
Some designs that stood out include the suede hair trainers from brands like Koel and Rayve. These animal prints really look luxurious, and I hope more brands jump on this bandwagon check out my images below:
The Koel are the brown-laced ones and the Rayve the pink-laced. You can find Koel’s version on their website here. The Rayve option isn’t available yet, but they have similar style leopard and zebra print ones currently in stock on the retail website. These shoes are as barefoot as they are gorgeous – note the nice amount of space for the big toe.
Chelsea boot heaven
With colder weather, nothing is more convenient than a slip on/slip off boot that is water resistant, comfy, and looks good. Barefoot Chelsea boots are looking better and better, just look as the El Naturalista options below. Online the sole looks as though it might be heavy and clunky – they are so much lighter and more flexible than I imagined! I don’t know what kind of magic has been worked, but it’s a very conventional looking sole on a barefoot shoe. The fit is great too with plenty of toe box width and not sloppy on the ankles. They also had really gorgeous options in other styles, which I regretfully didn’t photograph.
You can find them here on their website (new colours still to be launched). Note that only the ‘barefoot’ like they sell are barefoot, the rest of the shoes are conventional pointy ones.
Safety First
It’s an excellent sign that more specialised barefoot shoes are coming onto the market. Some examples are the steel toe safety boots offered by brands like Gaucho Ninja and Baak, both of which attended the expo.
A nice segue from the Chelsea boots, are more Chelsea boots – except this time they’re safety boots with ISO rate toe cap protection from Gaucho Ninja! The Baak options look more like traditional safety boots and their website has every specification detail you’ll ever need.
The orange soled options below are also safety boots, yet to be released! You can see the Gaucho Ninja offerings in the image below (which is only a small sample) are varied and the quality of the craftsmanship is really impressive.
Kids Corner
The event was very family friendly, with a little play area set up next to the complimentary coffee bar! There were also plenty of kids offerings on display, including the usual brands like Froddo, Paperkrane, etc.
Boatilus really stood out as a lovely affordable option (<=£25). They are known for providing foot-healthy alternatives to crocs and other sandals/water play shoes. They lack the stiff foamy sole and actually fit securely on the foot while still being slip on. Check out their offerings online here.
The jelly style sandals pictured below (not yet on their website) are extremely flexible and have a really wide, foot-shaped toe box.
Ma Sandals
I’m dedicated a whole section just to Ma Sandals for being an incredibly affordable custom fit sandal option! These are huarache style sandals and on the ultra-minimalist side, with sole thicknesses of 4mm and 6mm offered (depending on how much ground feel you prefer). If you’re interested in minimalist sandals of this style, check out my huarache barefoot sandal round up here.
There is every single lace colour option you could need plus 4 sole colour options, meaning making a decision becomes hard. Fortunately a full pair of sandals, plus extra toe loops, plus an ankle securing strap comes in at under £25. I had my feet traced for some sandals at the expo, so hold on tight for my review when they arrive! If you want a pair, make sure you follow instructions on the website in order to provide a custom foot template first.
My Overall Impression
This event is much needed for barefooters in the UK, as it presents a unique opportunity to actually see, try-on, and handle a huge variety of barefoot brands. It’s a brilliant place to learn about lesser known brands and meet likeminded individuals (nowhere else would you be stealing so many glances at people’s feet!).
Thankfully the retailers like Happy Little Soles and others managed to bring ranges for brands that weren’t there to represent themselves. Despite this, certain well-known brands like Wildlings weren’t represented and missed out on making an impact. The central European market was very well represented, which was excellent to see as some of the nicest shoes come from brands established in this region – including well known ones like Shapen and lesser known ones like Rayve. Spanish brands were also very impressive with their offerings, with some very fashionable styles from Flamingo’s Life, Lejan, and more.
Many retailers had additional discounts available on the day, offering slightly better than their usual 10% or so. They weren’t discounted enough to tempt me into buying shoes I don’t need, however!
I came prepared by wearing toe socks, so I could try on sandals with toe straps guilt-free. I would recommend you do the same for convenience – there were also toe sock retailers at the expo.
The number of shoes available for trying on was fairly impressive, and most brands had something in my size (EU 43 / UK 9 / 27cm long foot). Some resellers had a smaller range of sizes than a brand provides, seeing as they’re selling a huge range and only stock the most common sizes.
Parking was free, barista coffee was free, the facilities were great and the spacious hall made it easy to mill around. Overall it was an incredible event and will definitely be attending the next one.
