Naot Spring 2023
Made with plant-based, vegan leather from Nova Milan.
Made with plant-based, vegan leather from Nova Milan.
An assortment of styles by Naot.
Pastel color ways and vibrant hues were staples of the line.
In addition to vegan leather, the brand showcased shoes with textile uppers.
Garb from creatives and labels Onalaja, Kentaro Kameyama, O. Low by Orit Lowinger, Marina Leight Atelier, Toit Volant brought the understated shoe silhouettes to life as they glided down the runway.
Israeli comfort footwear brand Naot’s fashion show, which included vegan sandal styles slated to hit shelves in spring 2023, was pumped up with eye-catching apparel from emerging designers.
In metallics, animal prints and plant-inspired motifs, along with canvas textile uppers, the brand showcased strappy sandals, slides and double-buckle strapped silhouettes.
The shoes’ pared-down designs made them optimal complements to the show’s more avant-garde, colorful and whimsical looks.
Naot’s first exploration of alternatives to traditional cow hide leather was developed in partnership with Nova Milan, a Costa Rica-based material innovation firm that specializes in vegan leather.
According to the company’s co-founder, Irma Orenstein, the group has worked with Naot to create a proprietary alt-leather made with a blend of hemp, pineapple leaves, coconut, banana, and water hyacinth—agricultural waste from the country’s farming communities.
“In the past, we found vegan materials that were good, but the leathers that are out there right now aren’t necessarily as sustainable as what they’ve created, because they have fossil fuels in them,” Naot U.S. vice president of operations Ayelet Levy told Sourcing Journal. Other options have been lacking in achieving the “real leather look,” she said.
The collaboration with Nova Milan has yielded a material that is embossed with the texture of natural leather, and can be printed, using Kornit Digital’s textile printing solutions, with the patterns the brand has conceived for its collection.