Does good design even matter these days? Apparently not, especially in the fashion industry, where brands are going all-out to see who can out-ugly each other. Scarily, that trend doesn’t seem to abating anytime soon. Case in point: luxury fashion house Balenciaga today (October 2) unveiled brand new Crocs shoes that are just frankly hideous.
Yep, give yourself a minute to take all of that in. Crocs is now high fashion, the world is indeed mad. Long considered by sneakerhead’s (and many a rational human being) to be the world’s ugliest shoe, these rubber clogs found itself on the runway after debuting at Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2018 show at Paris Fashion Week.
Best part is, they aren’t even the ones you see on your friendly neighbourhood Ah Ma when she goes grocery shopping at NTUC. Called “Foam” shoes, these kicks are a 10cm platform version of the iconic Crocs clog, with a customisation option that allows you to place pins on the shoe’s upper – pins that look a lot like those holiday fridge magnets you find at souvenir stores.
But while we have serious reservations over how these shoes look, we’re at least confident that they’ll be comfy, pragmatic even, and definitely long-lasting – in true Crocs style. Balenciaga is also hoping that these rubber kicks would pave the way for new technology to be introduced to shoe making.
Demna Gavasalia, Balenciaga design extraordinaire, told Vogue of how impressed he was with Crocs’ “modern” manufacturing process, and that it could be even more advanced for consumers soon. “In the future you will be able to 3D print them at home because they are all one piece,” said Gavasalia, referencing Crocs shoes as an example.
Right now, there aren’t any pricing details for the “Foam” shoes, although we wouldn’t be surprised to see them cost thousands of dollars, cause that’s just how Balenciaga rolls. However, they will be available exclusively at Balenciaga points of sale worldwide and on Balenciaga’s website from Spring 2018 onwards.
For more information, visit www.balenciaga.com.
Images: Balenciaga
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