The 5 Best Summer Sneakers for Men in 2023

Summertime and the sneakers are easy when you know how. Because it’s time to update your collection for the season – and there’s always too much choice out there. When selecting our picks for the 5 best summer sneakers for men, we opted to pare things back and concentrate on brands that truly care about what they do so that when you pick out your chosen summer sneakers there’s a feeling of putting something truly special on your feet.

We’re going for a laid-back, casually luxurious style with our summer 2023 picks, a luxury that has a conscience to match our times, with sustainability as the essential twist to a handmade ethos. Transparency is key: you’ll want to know that these are fairly-made sneakers and that materials are consciously chosen. Low-key, meticulously imagined design is critical to all our picks of the best summer sneakers for men in 2023. See you down the beach.

5 Best Summer Sneakers for Men in 2023

Best Buy

Oliver Cabell Low 1 Belmont

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Oliver Cabell’s handmade, direct-to-you, affordable luxury is a compelling philosophy and one that’s gained this niche label a dedicated following. The Low 1 Belmont is a new take on an Oliver Cabell classic with subtle, distinctive distressing that’s unique to each pair. These are sneakers that instantly look worn in, while still being hand-crafted by skilled artisans in Italy’s Marche region, where shoemaking is a way of life. Calfskin leather is full-grain and there’s a high-end Margom sole. Calfskin lining? Of course.

Best Buy

Axel Arigato Arlo Sneaker

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Max Svärdh and Albin Johansson founded Axel Arigato to express their obsession with sneakers – and to create something entirely new. Axel Arigato brings together a Japanese sensibility for detail with Swedish minimal design. Their Arlo Sneaker is a perfectly judged low-key silhouette – great design never needs to shout – with uppers in leather, suede, and recycled polyester. The sole includes recycled rubber and this distinctive colorway is a quietly confident summer statement.

Best Buy

Dalgado Elio Low-Top Smooth Leather Sneakers

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Are these the perfect white sneakers? Handmade in Portugal, the Elio silhouette expresses a central Dalgado belief, one that “cherishes quality and opposes mass consumption” as they eloquently put it. The design is so subtle it’s hardly there, uppers are in Italian bio-based full-grain calf leather, the lining is super-soft calf from Italy, soles are by Margom. Details always count: laces are in Portuguese natural cotton – there’s a spare pair of course – barely-visible branding will impress aficionados and there’s a black cotton dust bag.

Best Buy

LØCI Neo Maize Sneakers

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When you’re looking for conscious consumption and a label that knows how to mesh style with sustainability, then LØCI is the place to go. Innovation in materials is central at this pioneering label, with uppers in a vegan leather substitute that’s 50% maize waste, and incorporates recycled poly-textiles. Linings are in nylon and bamboo, soles are natural leather and there’s a natural cork insole. Also: just look at them. Distinctive LØCIlogo marks out the Neo as something truly special: a sneaker for our times, here in a green colorway that adds a punch to any outfit, every occasion.

Best Buy

Cariuma Black Canvas Slip-on

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Every wardrobe needs a pair of slip-on sneakers, no ifs no buts, no maybes. Whether you’re sloping around your holiday villa or strolling on the beach they’re the perfect option, though we’d dress ours up for a night out later. Skater style here is inspired, say the good people at Cariuma, by a California afternoon. We’re there already: an organic cotton canvas to the upper and lining is in line with the label’s promise of sustainability, logo to the sides is an expression of their pride in what they do. Sole is 100% natural rubber, the result is a true summer essential.