At Yokono, we've been watching the same question return every spring: what footwear to choose for an outdoor celebration without ending up barefoot three hours in. And the answer, more and more often, moves away from the stiletto. More often than not, it lies in platform sandals.
Not as an alternative, but as the first choice. Because when they're well designed, they have everything: height that flatters, a base that stabilises and a design that sits naturally in the most carefully considered events of the season.
Weddings, communions and outdoor celebrations have changed enormously. Rustic estates, gardens, terraces with views and beach ceremonies have replaced hotel ballrooms as the preferred setting.
A thin heel on grass, cobblestone or compacted earth is a gamble with more risk than glamour. Platform sandals, on the other hand, distribute weight, offer a wider base and allow you to move with confidence on any surface.
There's still a lingering idea that platform sandals are casual footwear, for a carefree summer. In our collection this season we've committed to platforms with polished finishes, fine leather straps, metallic details and sculptural soles that lift the shoe into an entirely different category.
Platform sandals achieve a visual effect that a thin heel doesn't always manage. By lengthening the line of the leg in a continuous and balanced way, they flatter the silhouette in a particularly becoming manner with midi and maxi dresses, which are precisely the styles most worn at events this season.
Outdoor wedding: seamless elegance. At a wedding, the key is to add without competing. Nude or matte gold tones, fine straps and balanced heights work with virtually any guest look.
This year's trends favour fluid dresses, asymmetric cuts and light fabrics. With those kinds of pieces, a minimalist platform sandal is the most natural choice.
Communion: the balance between celebration and comfort. Communions tend to be long events. Aperitif, lunch, after-dinner, dancing. A leather sandal in camel, nude or white, with an adjustable ankle fastening, is the most versatile Option. It works well with short or midi dresses, skirt and blouse combinations and jumpsuits of any length.
Informal outdoor event or celebration: more freedom, same discernment. For a garden party, a family outdoor celebration or an event with a more relaxed dress code, the esparto or jute platform sandal comes into its own. It's the style that best communicates with the natural surroundings, with linen and raffia fabrics and with that summery spirit that characterises the most relaxed celebrations of the season.
At a many-hour event, support is just as important as design. A platform sandal that doesn't hold properly forces you to walk differently, causes chafing and ends up in your bag sooner than expected.
What we look for at Yokono are adjustable fastenings, straps that don't pinch but don't slip either, and an insole that genuinely cushions. That's the kind of platform sandal that allows you to be at an event from midday until two in the morning without once thinking about changing your shoes.
Nude or beige: the most versatile. Works with any dress colour, visually lengthens the leg and never distracts from the look.
Gold: the most elegant metallic of the season. Works day and night, with plains and prints. In SS26, gold finishes in footwear take a leading role in guest looks.
Silver: cooler, more urban, equally effective. Especially good with blue, green or white tones.
White: fresh, luminous, very well suited to daytime weddings and communions. Adds effortlessly to the simplest looks.
Black: for late afternoon or evening celebrations. Whatever you're wearing above, black platform sandals always work.
For us, designing platform sandals for events doesn't start with the finish. It starts with the insole, the weight distribution, the fit.
Because style at a celebration doesn't hold up if two hours in you're already looking for a chair. The platform sandal that truly works at a wedding, a communion or any special event is the one that accompanies you all day and allows you to be present, enjoy yourself and move with the same ease from the ceremony to the last dance.
