After discovering a surprising but welcome Spirit Blossom Vayne's splashart, I was wondering how many female (human) champions were showing off their feet in their skins, be it bare or in sandals, and I ended up making a list of all of these after searching through in-game models. Since in-game models do not always strictly follow the skins' splash arts, I also took the time to look up splash arts to make a similar list.
As a disclaimer, Kindred, Xayah and Zyra are barefoot in their base skins (though Zyra does have some kind of heel) but they do not have human feet. Monsters, Yordles as well as child (or child looking) champions are not included for obvious reasons.
Lo and behold, the real treasures of League of Legends :
Barefoot champions and skins
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Elderwood Ahri
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Infernal Akali
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Janna
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Tempest Janna
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Frost Queen Janna
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Sacred Sword Janna
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Guardian of the Sands Janna
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Kalista
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Blood Moon Kalista
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Morgana
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Exiled Morgana
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Blackthorn Morgana
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Majestic Empress Morgana
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Neeko
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Star Guardian Neeko
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Star Guardian Neeko Prestige Edition
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Syndra
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Atlantean Syndra
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Pool Party Syndra
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Spirit Blossom Vayne
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Haunted Zyra
Champions and skins wearing sandals and other open toe footwear
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Spirit Blossom Ahri (socks)
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Blood Moon Akali (thighs highs)
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Pool Party Caitlyn
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Lunar Goddess Diana
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Tango Evelynn
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Blood Moon Evelynn (thigh highs)
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Pool Party Fiora
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Order of the Lotus Irelia
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Sun Goddess Karma
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Sandstorm Katarina
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Pool Party Leona
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Pool Party Miss Fortune
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Victorious Morgana
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Spirit Blossom Riven (socks)
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Winter Wonder Neeko
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Pharaoh Nidalee
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Qiyana
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Riven
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Sabretusk Sejuani
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Boneclaw Shyvana
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Huntress Sivir
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Blood Moon Sivir (thigh highs)
Splash Arts that show feet
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Elderwood Ahri
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Pool Party Caitlyn
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Lunar Goddess Diana (only a little)
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Sacred Sword Janna
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Guardian of the Sands Janna (only a little)
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Pool Party Leona
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Pool Party Miss Fortune
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Exiled Morgana
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Neeko
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French Maid Nidalee
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Riven
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Spirit Blossom Vayne
Here is an album regrouping the splash arts above (nobody will ask you why you clicked).
Barefoot skins for barefoot champs
| Champion | Barefoot | Not | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janna | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Kalista | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Morgana | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Neeko | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Syndra | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Total | 13 | 21 | 34 |
(These numbers do not include the base skin)
Trivia
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A lot of splash arts of barefoot skins do not actually show feet
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Out of the barefoot base characters, Syndra is the only one who does not have a single splash art featuring her feet
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Some Pool Party skins and French Maid Nidalee do not wear shoes in their splash art but do in game
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Janna is the only champion to have her feet draw in more than one splash art
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Ahri, Akali and Vayne are the only champions to have a skin in which they have taken off their shoes
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Spirit Blossom Vayne is actually stepping on someone in her splash art
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Zyra’s feet are humanised in her Haunted skin
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Cassiopeia has no boots in all of her skins
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Sona has no feet in her base model and a large part of her skins
Conclusion
It is extremely rare for female champions to take off their shoes for a new skin (or maybe they just can't afford a new pair anymore), however this was something that did not exist not so long ago as Infernal Akali, Elderwood Ahri and Spirit Blossom Vayne were respectively released/reworked in July 2018, August 2019 and July 2020. It seems to be a new thing that might happen more in the future.
When it comes to actual barefoot champions, only 38% of their skins have them remaining barefoot which I do find quite low. I would have expected them to be more around 50% as most skins still follow the base model.
And last but not least:
RemoveFrenchMaidNidaleeShoesInGame
