Veja x Marimekko: Salar and Small Canary Get Bio-Based Build, $125-$235

Veja and Marimekko have released a limited-edition sneaker collaboration priced between $125 and $235, spanning an adult model and a children's model with a shared bio-based material platform. The collection is available now through both brands' channels, and it puts a Finnish print archive on a French supply chain built around certified and plant-derived inputs.

The collaboration covers two silhouettes: Veja's adult Salar and the kids' Small Canary. Both carry the Popkorni print, a floral motif designed in 2024 by Finnish artist Antti Kekki. The name means "popcorn" in Finnish, and Kekki produced the artwork through paper-cutting; the result reads as small fluttering flowers across the upper.

What materials go into the shoes?

The Salar pairs an alveomesh and suede upper with suede panels and organically traced leather. The Small Canary uses the same alveomesh and suede panel construction. Both models share an insole made from a bio-based EVA derived from sugar cane.

The production bill of materials also includes Amazonian rubber, mineral silica, recycled polyester and organic cotton. For sourcing teams, the build reflects Veja's established pattern: substituting plant-derived and recycled inputs for petroleum-based synthetics where the construction allows it. Organically traced leather signals a chain-of-custody claim, which buyers auditing the tier-two leather processors will want to trace back to its certification standard.

Why did the partners choose Popkorni?

"We wanted a design rooted in Marimekko's archives and recognizable at first sight, offering a fresh take on its iconic floral patterns," Caroline Bulliot, art director at Veja, told FN. "Antti Kekki's Popkorni felt like a natural choice: we can feel the joy, the movement, an electric and artistic edge. Marimekko has a unique ability to give artists room to express themselves freely. We share a deep appreciation for the people behind each product, refined materials, and craftsmanship."

Bulliot's reference to "the people behind each product" points at the labor dimension that both brands market heavily. Veja has built its positioning on direct sourcing relationships in Brazil, so the collaboration inherits those factory-level commitments rather than creating new ones.

How does this fit Veja's 2025 release cadence?

This launch is Veja's third shoe collaboration announced this year, a tempo that keeps limited editions flowing through the same production base as core lines.

• September: Veja teamed with French brand Arpenteur on its first sneaker ever made without the brand's signature "V" logo on the side panel.
• February: Veja updated its Panenka model with Magliano, the Italian label founded by Luca Magliano. That unisex shoe drew on vintage football boots and featured a folded tongue over the upper.
• Now: The Marimekko collection retails from $125 for the kids' Small Canary range up to $235 at the top of the adult Salar line.

For sourcing desks, the takeaway is straightforward. The collaboration confirms that Veja runs partner projects on the same material stack as its mainline production — sugar cane EVA, organic cotton, recycled polyester and Amazonian rubber — which limits new material onboarding risk. Buyers weighing similar co-branded programs should ask whether print licensing, as with Marimekko's archive, changes the material specification, or whether, as here, the decoration layer sits on top of an unchanged certified input base.