LEATHER SHOES are so widespread that most of us don’t give them a second thought. Animal skin has been the dominant footwear material since the early Mesopotamian civilization, despite some notable exceptions—ranging from silver and gold sandals in ancient Rome to mother-of-pearl shoes in 18th-century France. Leather is ideal for footwear: It’s comfortable, durable and readily available. Though the global population currently includes hundreds of millions of vegetarians, many still regularly lace up smooth leather Nike Air Jordans, pop on sheepskin Ugg boots and slip into pairs of smooth calfskin pumps.
But veganism, a stricter kind of vegetarianism that prohibits animal by-products and is usually linked to environmental concerns, is on the rise, and with it, a demand for stylish vegan shoes. “Vegan,” like “sustainable,” is a word annoyingly open to interpretation, but a vegan shoe is usually defined as one crafted neither from leather nor silk, cashmere, shearling or any other fauna-derived substances. Bonus points for shoes that use recycled materials or are biodegradable. Even shoes that appear vegan, such as fabric flats, can be lined in thin leather, or bound with animal-collagen glue.
Vegan shoes can be made of synthetic blends or a host of other experimental, plant-based materials such as corn derivatives, wood, mushrooms, hemp, cotton, cork, pineapple and bacteria. Yes, the kind of bacteria that gave us kombucha can be transformed into vegan shoe “leather.”
While these strictures might sound extreme to your average Joe, they’re being increasingly adopted. Consumer analyst Carmen Bryan of GlobalData said that the percentage of Americans “aligning with vegan diets…shot up” from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020. She explained, “This has been driven by increased awareness of individual carbon footprints, environmental concerns and the impact healthy eating has on one’s mental health. The pandemic, especially in the early months, forced many U.S. citizens to slow down and reassess their priorities, leading to radical lifestyle changes.”
That lifestyle is being further trend-ified by vocal vegan celebrities such as pop star Billie Eilish and actress Natalie Portman. Others who have flirted with vegan diets and the associated ethical stances include Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and Jaden Smith, who collaborated with New Balance on a vegan sneaker last year, the puffy space-age Vision Racer. On the red carpet, these stars often wear sneakers, or have shoes specially made for them. When Natalie Portman was an ambassador for Dior, the French brand made custom vegan shoes that she could wear to its events. But one stylist did tell me that some vegan-aligned celebrities cheat by quietly wearing non-vegan shoes.
Vegan stars: They’re just like us. Historically, sticklers who wanted to wear shoes not made out of animals or animal by-products had few options. Some go the route of canvas sneakers like Converse and Vans, or the popular vegan sneakers made by Vegas. Non-leather Doc Martens have been the shoe of choice for straight-edge, vegetarian hardcore fans and punks since the style debuted in 2011. But vegans who were also into fashion, or had a formal event to attend, were frustrated.
A longtime animal-rights activist, fashion designer Stella McCartney and her eponymous brand do not use leather, fur, exotic skins, feathers or animal glue. Her luxury shoes and handbags are a standard go-to for well-heeled vegetarians. And they’re lovely, if expensive: This season she offers $850 zip-up booties that look as polished as any leather pair. Which is not to say that she hasn’t come under fire. Vegan and eco-types have called her out for her use of traditional silk, and synthetic materials that cause emissions when they decompose. (She’s now experimenting with humane “Peace Silk” which causes no harm to silkworms, as well as faux silk options)
Synthetic replacements for leather are a huge point of contention in the vegan world. On one hand, polyurethane/polyvinyl blended materials are the most convincing leather dupe. But on the other hand, such materials are not the most environmentally friendly ( Twitter user @bunny6gamer nabbed over 200,000 likes last week for pointing out: “‘vegan leather’ is a genius marketing term. it’s literally just plastic lol”). Many conscious consumers avoid buying new shoes at all regardless of the material, or chasing the dream of a 100% bio-based, biodegradable shoe.
That vision was the original goal for the new direct-to-consumer line Aera. When New York-based CEO Tina Bhojwani started the company alongside creative director Jean Michel Cazabat and investor Alvertos Revach, she thought, “Let’s make a 100% biodegradable bio-based shoe. And in fact, that still is the dream.” But Aera also wanted to make timeless, elegant shoes that would last, so for now they landed on a 50% bio material and 50% synthetic mix. The simple styles—like a $475 flat boot that Katie Holmes has worn a lot during the pandemic—are the type of chic vegan footwear that did not exist previously.
Other small, innovative designers have seen the potential in this growing category. The California brand Simon Miller makes graphic, brightly colored vegan mules and sandals. Those are a favorite of New York stylist Beverly Nguyen, who has worked with Ms. Portman as well as other environmentally-minded stars such as Selena Gomez. A former lead designer for Bottega Veneta, Mirco Scoccia, just launched the vegan shoe line O2Monde. Mr. Scoccia became disillusioned with the waste involved in traditional shoemaking, and decided to start experimenting with plant-based materials. He makes a pretty pump made partly of certified wood, and a flat of woven straw.
Proper shoemaking is a complicated process that was developed with leather in mind, so using alternative materials challenges factories. Ms. Bhojwani of Aera said that its shoes take 50% longer to make than leather shoes, but that the son of the Italian family who owns the factory Aera uses had seen the light and was studying sustainability. Ms. Nguyen thinks there’s room for American makers to compete in the vegan-shoe game, too. She said, “Maybe there will be a cobbler resurgence in the United States, a school or something. I think it’s about teaching people how to make the shoe itself.”
