Crocs. A name that can strike fear into the heart of even the most hardened fashionista. For so long, the durable slip-ons beloved of surgeons and holidaying dads have been a by-word for everything that is not cool; not quite the nadir of fashion, but getting there.
And then in swept Christopher Kane. For his S/S’17 show, which marked Kane’s tenth year on the London Fashion Week show schedule, the Scottish designer sent models down the runway in bespoke versions of the much-maligned shoe. An upgrade on the, ahem, classic plastic slip-on, the CK Crocs came in terracotta, petrol blue and shimmering black, and were decked out in crystals.
Naturally, the response from the fashion crowd has been conflicted. On the one hand, if anyone can make a previously unloved shoe cool, it’s Kane, the man who has previously made us coo over catwalk looks involving granny-chic waterproof headscarves and fluoro cable ties. On the other? They’re Crocs. Crocs.
The designer’s latest collection took the wartime attitude of ‘make-do and mend’ as its theme, and, befitting its status as an anniversary collection, appeared to revisit handfuls of Kane’s trademark design tropes: laser-cut flowers in appliqué, re-worked animal print, chain-mail embellishment. According to a release from the designer, it was all about pitting the rural and the homemade against sleek urban sophistication, with a smattering of mystic and religious iconography (every show-goer received a Catholic prayer card).
While these born again Crocs have left show-goers with one eyebrow raised, it’s certainly not unheard of for fashion’s elite to embrace an unexpected shoe. Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma furry pool slides proved to be an unlikely sell-out earlier this summer, while the now-ubiquitous fur-lined Gucci loafer didn’t win everyone over immediately.
Catwalk or no catwalk, it seems that Crocs are still fashion Marmite. And, ever the provocateur, we’re guessing that Kane wouldn’t have it any other way.