The princess joined in with some of the activities during her visit, and she opted for a pair of practical sneakers by Veja. The white and rose gold sneakers were the perfect balance to her nearly all-white look and allowed the yellow blazer to pop even more.
Kate has been a fan of Veja’s Esplar leather and suede low-top sneakers, which are ethically made in Brazil, for some time. The rubber soles are harvested sustainably from the Amazonian rainforest and are also made with sugarcane and recycled EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), while the inside lining is made of organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles.
The French sneaker brand has an impressive celebrity fan club beyond Kate, including Emma Watson and Emily Ratajkowski, who have helped the sustainable label become a household name since it launched in 2004. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, also wore the sneakers during the royal tour of Australia, opting for the Esplars in white with black detailing.
This royal endorsement unsurprisingly caused a surge in demand at the time, with online searches increasing by 113%. Even so, Veja cofounder Sébastien Kopp claimed to British Vogue at the time that the Meghan Markle effect isn’t an important part of the brand’s success story. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who she is,” Kopp said. “Sometimes it makes me sad that because a princess wears Veja, people are interested in the project. But that’s the way our society is.”
Regardless of Kopp’s point of view, you can’t deny the power that Meghan and Kate have to sell out an item. Case in point: the yellow blazer that the princess wore for this week’s Mental Health Awareness Week visit is no longer available. But you can shop similar styles, as well as her go-to sneakers, below.
This post was originally published in British Vogue.
