TO all ballerina lovers, there is a new model of flat shoes that promises to overturn trends. After months in which the ballet flats have dominated the market, from classic versions to more hybrid reinterpretations, something changes. There Spring-Summer 2026 shift your attention to one different silhouette, more elegant, less obvious: the lace-up derby, especially in his version white.
It’s not new in the strict sense, but the way it is proposed today makes it so suddenly current. Thinner, softer, more tapered. It is the French style accessory to buy immediately.
The white derby shoes according to the catwalks
The derby is back, but not as we remembered it. What really puts it back into circulation is Celine, where Michael Rider empties it of all rigidity and reduces it to the essential: smooth upper, thin lacing, flat sole. Furthermore, the SS26 trend demands it rigorously whiteno nuances allowed. The result is a shoe that is halfway between a ballerina and a men’s oxfordbut without really belonging to either category. They think about confirming the birth of one of the most viral micro-trends of the season Jil Sander And Lemaire, where the derby becomes even softer, with a glove effect. While Proenza Schouler think of it as more urban, with an open upper that allows the foot to be seen.
Celine Spring-Summer 2026. (Spotlight Launchmetrics)
Change of pace, the chic alternative to ballet flats
The identikit of this new (old) design is so precise that it was love at first sight immediately. The new white derby is a decidedly Parisian shoewhich the It-girls born under the Eiffel Tower choose to respond to that typical mid-season need for a light but closed shoe. A stylish alternative to day shoes like sneakers and loaferswhich boasts an elongated toe and a tapered silhouette, in line with the season’s most loved designs. THE laces are thinthe dull skin And soft, with some models lying completely flat and others rising up on a discreet micro-heel.
Flat leather shoes, Zara.
From preppy to minimal: how to wear them in the French style
But it’s when the Spring-Summer 2026 derby enters the wardrobe that the real fun begins. From Celine fits into a decidedly Parisian look, composed of double-breasted blazers, wide and fluid trousers and soft shirts.
Nello Street Style, instead, he sees himself working in an even more interesting way: with midi skirts And men’s shirts, or with straight denims and knitwear placed on the shoulders, in a clearly register preppy but lightened.
With its white and rigid appearance it emerges even under the simplest looks, breaking the monotony despite its minimalism. And this is precisely what makes it relevant now: it is not a shoe that defines a look, it’s what makes it work.
