Dior, Chanel and … Veja? The ethical Paris trainer worn by A-listers and royalty | Fashion

IIt is difficult for a brand to stand out in the grand hierarchy of Parisian fashion. Someone in particular head blow It’s a white sneaker that goes with everything. But 20 years after Veja started selling sustainable shoes, it has become the most affordable It brand for scooter-riding moms, sustainably-minded millennials, and A-list tycoons looking to bring their values ​​to their ethical leather-clad feet.

Sébastien Kopp, co-founder of Veja, says he doesn’t know whether people buy sneakers for how they’re made or for the way they look. Speaking from Veja’s headquarters in Paris, the company is meticulous about social and fair trade practices, “but we don’t know that information because we don’t do surveys, we don’t do marketing,” he says.

It also doesn’t give freebies. When actor Emma Watson wanted a pair of shoes, she did what no celebrity has ever done and “bought them.” So is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. “I received an email from the company [palace] “I asked questions about them but I didn’t answer because I thought it was fake.”

actor Marion Cotillard She once listed it as a favorite brand alongside Valentino and Alexander McQueen, and the company even reportedly fielded a request from Emily’s maximalist costume department in Paris (Veja prefers not to comment on this).

What Veja does know is that he has sold almost 15 million pairs worldwide. Its success depends on various factors. Branded accessories like the Daunts handbag or even Labubu have become material signs of taste or interest, a way to convey your values.

“The Veja V tells the world that these sneakers are designed and manufactured responsibly and that you care,” says Ima Shah, director of trend forecasting site Stylus. Fashion also helped. Plus size clothing is popular right now but is casual in nature. “Big trousers and big shoes don’t work. A sharper shoe will formalize the look, make it more elegant,” he says.

Veja produces sneakers, but the most popular previous models actually function as sneakers for people who don’t want to wear sneakers.

These are strange times for shoes, though. Approximately 60% of the 23 billion shoes produced each year are athletic shoes. But according to Katy Lubin, vice president of brand and communications at fashion marketplace Lyst, “demand for sneakers is currently down about 30% on a yearly basis.” Trend forecasting agency WGSN said sneakers are expected to decline next year as well. Lubin says people want boots and loafers.

There’s no use for that right now, no single sneaker style dominates. Earlier this year, the New York Times declared the end of the dad trainer, but according to Lyst, dad-shaped New Balance 204L One of the hottest coaches of the year.

While Gen Z wears stilettos like Puma Speedcats, Millennials like Chanel’s creative director Matthieu Blazy still wear Nike (Blazy wore his own shoe in his first Chanel bow).

You’ll see Asics on the catwalk at Cecilie Bahnsen, and Prada went so far as to design its own. Despite Rishi Sunak’s best efforts, even the Adidas Samba has returned from the dead.

But white sneakers win. According to Lyst, the most popular Veja sneaker is the Campo. As simple and elegant as its 2000s predecessor, the Stan Smith, its simplicity is its appeal, as is the “quiet luxury” trend and no-makeup makeup. The main difference is the customer.

“The Stan Smiths are comparable, yes, but they were always younger,” says Shah. While the Stan Smith has cultural cachet (Jay-Z once rapped about them), “Veja’s values ​​are tied to responsible purchasing rather than trends.” Being French also gives them a certain elegance.

Until 1980, Veja’s headquarters in Paris was the printing house of the French Communist Party. Updated with poured concrete floors and a Bauhaus-like staircase, the space also includes a vegetarian canteen, but like some of its shoes, it’s vegan.

Veja began phasing out vegan sneakers because “the more we looked at leather, the more we realized natural materials had better traceability,” Kopp says. Vegan leather is usually just polyester or plastic. “I know Stella McCartney is an icon [in the UK] but vegan PVC shoes. For me? Non.As for the canteen, the staff allegedly stopped going vegan because they missed cheese.

Kopp founded the brand with his childhood friend François-Ghislain Morillion, who both worked in finance, after noticing a lack of shoes that advocated ethical practices and traceability in their production processes. The company now employs 500 people and has produced 14 million pairs of sneakers, achieving the commercialism and ubiquity it once arguably resisted.

The paradox of the ideal model of sustainability, which advocates a “make, buy, throw away nothing” approach, is that jobs are also at risk. That’s why Kopp thinks it’s about consumer moments like Black Friday. “It creates an economy and mentality that is not good.” Veja disagrees. The company’s website describes its manufacturers’ contracts and factory workers’ wages.

Kopp says greenwashing is also a problem. “The word recycling was co-opted,” he says. This is especially true for shoes, where a single sneaker can contain up to 40 different materials.

“Recycling this is not only difficult, it is almost impossible,” says Daniel Schmitt, head of repair operations at Veja. Therefore, few cobbler shops are now employed; The idea is that a pair can be recycled — “or reborn,” Schmitt says — up to five times.

As the global capital of glamour, recycling is not something one would associate with Parisian fashion. But so is fast fashion, and Shein opened a store in the French capital last month. “It’s not crazy at all,” Kopp says. There is Primark, there is Zara. “No one can stop consumption or really try to stop it.”

Their practice “shows what’s good in our supply chain and what’s wrong with others’ supply chains,” which is exactly how it goes. “We are the grandfathers of this industry, we come from another era,” says Kopp.