At long last, open-toe season has arrived. It’s time to book that pedicure appointment and peruse the new arrivals section for your new favourite pair of sandals. To aid your shopping expedition, we’re outlining the season’s most popular styles.
The sandal trends on the spring/summer 2025 catwalks ranged from grown-up flip-flops and jelly shoes to boho gladiators and gorp-y corded silhouettes. Chocolate brown and cherry red remained key colour choices for strappy sandals and heels, followed closely by animal prints like snake and leopard. Suede also stood out as a popular material choice for everyday slides. Explore these trends and more below.
Fisherman Sandals
Prepare for a particularly preppy, nautical summer. From Breton stripes at Proenza Schouler to sailor hats at Moschino, seaside attire was a frequent source of inspiration for designers. Fisherman sandals (and boat shoes) were also popular, appearing at Michael Kors, Simone Rocha, Miu Miu and more. Far from rugged, this season’s offering centres on city-ready silhouettes that pair well with scrunched socks and sleek office separates.
Dark Cherry
Ripe, juicy red hues appeared all over spring/summer 2025 catwalks, seen at Balmain, Bottega Veneta, and Victoria Beckham, helping the colour’s popularity skyrocket over the past few months. From strappy heels to sport sandals, this spring’s dark cherry footwear makes the perfect complement to the burgundy bags, knits, and statement coats you’ve likely accumulated recently.
Dark red also remained a key colour trend on autumn/winter 2025 runways, further proving the rich shade is worth investing in now.
Animal Print
In the Year of the Snake (and of leopard jeans), why stick to boring black or brown when you can add a pop of personality to your outfits with animal print sandals? The footwear trend continued on autumn/winter 2025 catwalks at Duran Lantink, Nina Ricci, Roberto Cavalli, and others, so you’re sure to get plenty of use out of the Saint Laurent leopard kitten heels or strappy Khaite python sandals you pick up this spring. For something slightly out of the ordinary, try Tory Burch’s T-strap zebra-print slides.
Flip flops
After years of steady popularity, flip flops remain a dominant shoe trend for spring/summer 2025. The everyday sandal has been subtly enhanced with square toes, kitten heels, and supple leather straps, making for vacation-ready footwear that can transition straight from the beach to the bar.
While quiet luxury cornerstones like The Row and Toteme stuck to tradition, trendsetters like Miu Miu broke the mould with thong-strapped open-toed sneakers and Mary-Janes. Elsewhere, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Etro made a compelling case for baring toes year-round with knee-high thong sandal-boots.
Woven and Knotted
This season, leather straps, nylon cording, and raffia ribbons were looped, knotted, and tied into crafty slingbacks, mules, and slides at Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Jil Sander, The Attico, and more. Miu Miu’s corded hiking sandals signal the emerging trend may take an outdoorsy turn in the coming months, so snatch them while you can.
Gladiator Sandals
1970s staples like paisley dresses, suede jackets, and hobo bags have slowly snuck their way back into our wardrobes. Now, it’s time for gladiator sandals to complete the boho comeback. Summer’s key style is a minimalist, flat-soled silhouette accented with delicate leather foot straps and ankle ties — a walkable look that'll boast a lived-in patina by the end of beach season.
While Khaite and Johanna Ortiz stuck to understated straps, other designers chose to make more of a statement. Ultra-thin straps were crisscrossed and buckled knee-high at Isabel Marant and Christian Dior, and metallic gladiators were embellished with colorful, chakra-inspired stones at Gianvito Rossi.
Chocolate Brown
Yes, everyone is still obsessed with brown. Like desserts themselves, we can’t get enough of creamy caramel and rich mocha brown hues. As temperatures rise, swap your dark brown boots and loafers for a pair of similarly-colored sandals. Whether you choose platform Loewe clogs or sleek Fendi logo slides, they’ll make an especially chic complement to that chartreuse item you’ve never known how to style.
Jelly Shoes
After successfully reimagining childhood favorites like Mary Janes and ballet flats, footwear designers are giving jelly shoes the same nostalgic treatment. The Row’s jelly flats flew off shelves last summer after being spotted on Jennifer Lawrence, so expect similar styles like Vince and Tory Burch’s caged jelly mules to sell out just as fast this season.
Or, revisit your youth with a pair of colourful fisherman jelly sandals that tap into multiple footwear trends at once.
Suede
Tactile suede materials are trending across outerwear, handbags, belts, and, yes, footwear—fashioned onto everything from minimalist slide sandals to mid-century-inspired kitten heels, boho clogs, and sky-high platforms. If you’re looking to replace a worn-out summer staple, like the ever-popular Birkenstock Arizona, try an elevated suede version in an unexpected hue.