Step aside, sneakers. The new stars in the casual footwear category have a surprisingly traditional, streamlined silhouette, and they’re going viral on TikTok. You can blame the current infatuation for the slip-on footwear on the first mass-market footwear creation of the 21st century: the original Crocs clogs.
Initially designed by a company called Foam Creations in Quebec City, Canada, the quirky foam clog was developed as a boating shoe. The first model produced by Crocs, the Beach, was unveiled in 2001 at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. From Boomers to GenZ, according to Wikipedia, the light-as-air foam clog has roughly sold 300 millions of units since its launch. And that’s not even counting the many other millions of counterfeit pairs. Fact. Whether you like love them or hate them, there’s no denying Crocs are polarizing. And, apparently, they’re here to stay.
The foam has its undeniable desirability. Even big name athletic footwear companies like Nike, Adidas, and New Balance now offer many foam soles in their product catalogue. They’re super comfortable, light and provide a good grip. Good enough reasons.
That seventies thing
After the enduring appeal of the foam Croc during the first months of at-home casualness, the more fashionable wooden clog started to emerge during the early summer of 2022, subtly clomping on catwalks, cafés, art galleries and city sidewalks.
Cue in Fleetwood Mac’s “Dream” album, still trending strong, and you have a vibe that’s irresistibly retro. It’s coming straight at us from the same seventies decade that also brought those curvy, groovy smooth typefaces that are quietly replacing the (boring) neutral square sans serif, minimalist fonts.
Seems we want things that have presence, style and personality. Clogs with wide-legged jeans? Of course we’re up for that! Particularly since they’re now available at every price point: from the genuine German chef clogs to the absolute luxe fashion house version. That would be Gucci. And Miu Miu. And St-Laurent. Most high-fashion brands now offer their own version of the classic wooden clog.
As of December 2022, Montreal-based international luxury online shop Ssense had over 130 available clogs, from the ultra-democratic original foam Crocs to an Alaïa black wooden studded ‘sabot’ (French for clogs) retailing for $1,450. That’s how wide the assortment of fashion clogs currently sits at, at one of the biggest online luxury shops in the world.
The Power of the Birkenstocks
Also emerging from the 70s, Birkenstock’s Boston clog has taken footwear by storm. But the rise of the cork-soled clog did not happen overnight. It started making its furtive appearance in 2021 on It Girls’ and celebrities’ feet. TikiTok took over, propelling the “ugly’ shoe even further. And now it’s almost impossible to get a pair of the taupe suede Boston clog, (currently the hottest footwear item), since it’s sold out in every size on the Birkenstock website. Maybe eBay will let you get a pair. If you’re lucky. The resale market is also offering slim pickings for this particular model.
Of course, Birkenstocks as a fashion item are nothing new. It happened in the 1990s when Marc Jacobs chose to feature the Arizona double buckle sandals for the runway presentation of his grunge collection for Perry Ellis; the one that made the brand part with the designer but also propelled him to the elite of fashion designers. Much like what happened to the Doc Martens, the Birkenstock sandals instantly became fashionable. Since their fashion appeal has waxed and waned. It varies according to the style and demographics of those fuelling the future fashion trends.
However, 2022 saw a massive luxe injection to the lineup of the Arizona model when Manolo Blahnik, shoemaker to the stars and the most talked about invisible character on Sex and the City, did a collab with the German brand by dressing up the Arizona and the Boston models with rhinestone buckles and velvet fabrics, upping the price point to close to $1,000 per pair of cork-soled sandals.
Slides and Adidas
Plastic slides have been ubiquitous beach footwear for the last 30 years. At least. But something happened along the way in the mid 2010s, when stylish guys started wearing them to go out. Or even clubbing — who could have predicted that one?!— Oh, and they wore them with socks. Shocking!
But like many things in fashion, cringe statements sometimes pave the way for extraordinary changes that become not only acceptable at first, but then highly covetable by the masses. That’s exactly what happened to the simple plastic slide sandal which once upon a time was humbly called a shower sandal, with the ultra classic model being the Adilette by Adidas.
Of course, the last three years have blasted the slide to become the full-fledged footwear for many occasions; from sipping smoothies at your desk to casual grocery shopping. Yes, it’s become a thing. From sports slides to mules, the transition was totally predictable. We want the ease of just slipping into some kind of comfy footwear. And this is where sneakers are shape-shifting into back-opened shoes.
One brand that is whole embracing the new footwear reality is New Balance. Actually, it’s evolved from a quasi-geriatric sneaker to a much more palatable footwear thanks to audacious colour combinations and fashion-forward shapes and styles. So much, in fact, that New Balance is now at the forefront of the new mule moment.
The brand is in the final stages of tweaking its very own mule-sneaker, the 2002R. The brand’s footwear designer, Yue Wu, showed off glimpses of it in an Instagram post, where its heel and shoelaces appear to be missing in action, and the shades are fuchsia, rust, and light and dark grey. In fact, everything stylish people currently want in a shoe.
And what about you, will you be embracing the new comfort-factor shoe, but in show-stopping colours?
