How to Style Vegan Shoes This Summer — SS26
Nae Vegan ShoesSummer 2026 has a fairly clear through-line: square toes are edging out pointy ones, thong sandals and T-strap styles are showing up everywhere, and the ballet flat — written off more than once over the years — is back for good. It's a season built around pieces that earn their place over time and have become timeless.
None of this means rebuilding your summer wardrobe from scratch. Here's how a handful of pairs from NAE's SS26 collection — plus a few older favorites still worth knowing — cover most of what summer actually throws at you: heat in the city, beach days, and the dinners that always run longer than planned. Most of it comes down to two materials doing the heavy lifting all season — cork, which stays cool and breathes in a way few synthetics manage, and recycled soles that hold up to real walking, not just a photo.
Let's walk through it.
The sandal that does the work for you
This is the summer of the sandal you can wear all day without thinking twice about it. A proper footbed, adjustable straps, and just enough coverage to still read as an outfit rather than an afterthought — that's the silhouette making the rounds this season, and it happens to be something we've done well for years.
RAWA and SAVAI are both built on a cork footbed and a recycled sole — meaning they mold to your foot, not the other way around. Ideal for a day that starts on cobblestones and ends in the sand. The other advantage of cork is one you forget about until August: it stays cool underfoot when synthetic soles turn into a hot plate.
For something a touch more polished, VERA takes the same buckle-strap idea and finishes it in warm brown with gold hardware, moving effortlessly from a morning at the market to a dinner table, with no shoe change in between.
All three work loose over a maxi skirt or with straight-leg pants cuffed at the ankle — the adjustable straps do the work that normally takes a shoe store to nail the fit.
Something with more attitude
Not every sandal has to whisper. Chunkier soles and double straps were all over street style this season — somewhere between a trekking sandal and a platform — and DARKU is built exactly for that: a chunky unisex double-strap design with a cushioned sole and enough presence to carry a plain tee and jeans on its own. It's the pair that does the work that normally falls to a whole outfit.
The sneaker that goes with everything
The fashion world keeps circling back to the same idea this year: a clean, white low-top sneaker — nothing chunky, nothing loud. KARIO is that shoe: made from recycled materials, low-profile, and shaped to work just as well with tailored shorts as with a summer dress — which is really the only test a good white sneaker has to pass. It's also the one pair on this list you could hand to just about anyone and know it would get worn.
Dressy, without really trying
Kitten heels and slingbacks have quietly worked their way back into rotation this year, and this season covers that at two distinct heights. ZURIE and SOLANE sit at the lower, more walkable end — 4.5 cm block heel, pointed toe, elastic slingback strap — and the only real difference between them is texture: Zurie in embroidered cork, Solane in soft vegan suede. Both are dressy enough for an evening without tipping into "special occasions only" territory, and comfortable enough that most people forget they're in a heel by the second hour.
For more height, LILOU and EMBER take the same shape and lift it to 9 cm — Lilou in the same cork, Ember in suede — built for the evening rather than the full day.
Proof that a going-out shoe doesn't have to hurt to earn its place in a summer capsule. Cork keeps everything light in a way leather rarely manages at this height — and the vegan suede pulls off the same trick convincingly.
Worn with a linen dress it reads polished; with wide-leg pants and a simple top, it's the one detail that speaks for the whole outfit. That's usually the sign of a shoe worth packing.
For him: sharp, not fussy
The men's side of the season leans the same direction as the women's: understatement over statement. HANOI is the more elevated choice — a refined sneaker with enough finish to pair with linen pants on a warmer evening. It's also the pair to reach for if only one makes it into the suitcase. SANDRO keeps things minimal and everyday in a soft brown — built for the kind of walking a city trip actually involves. DAN brings a genuinely playful color — for anyone who'd rather let their sneakers talk a little than play it safe. And if there's a wedding or a dressier dinner on the calendar, GAEL — a derby with brogue detailing in OEKO-TEX-certified vegan leather — covers the one gap sneakers can't: sharp enough for a summer suit and still genuinely comfortable inside.
The three sneakers share the same logic: nothing needs breaking in, and nothing needs a second thought before you head out. Gael is the one exception on this list — saved for the day a tee won't cut it.
The ballet flat that goes from desk to dinner
Ballet flats are genuinely back — and not just in a safe black. CLAIRE keeps it classic — a proper ballet flat that works under pants as well as under a skirt without a second thought, and slips into your bag for the walk home at night. NADIA leans softer, with a sneaker feel, in a pale pink and a gray that pairs surprisingly well with the season's washed denim. Both are the kind of shoe you forget you're wearing — which, on a long summer day, is exactly the point.
The loafer that skips the sandal entirely
Not everyone wants their feet out all summer, and ANNE covers that without tipping into anything heavy. A slip-on moccasin in vegan suede, flat with a 2.5 cm heel and genuinely flexible underfoot, it goes from an office day straight into the evening without asking for a second pair. It's the shoe for anyone who wants at least one of these decisions to be automatic — for anyone who'd rather not fuss over their shoe choice at all.
In short
If packing for summer feels like it takes six decisions — a puzzle in nine dimensions — it doesn't. A comfortable sandal, a pair with character, a white sneaker, and a flat you can dress up or down cover most of a season:
- Beach days and errands → RAWA, SAVAI, or VERA
- Making a bit of a statement → DARKU
- Everyday, no thinking → KARIO or ANNE
- A clean sneaker for him → HANOI, SANDRO, or DAN
- A dinner that runs longer than planned → ZURIE or SOLANE
- A properly big night → LILOU or EMBER
- From desk to drinks → CLAIRE or NADIA
- A suit occasion → GAEL
None of this needs to be complicated, and none of it needs several new pairs to work. Buy well, in materials that genuinely suit the season, and last year's pair keeps doing its job right alongside what's new.
