As you all have probably seen on multiple social media outlets by now the infamous and most disliked shoe in fashion has decided to create a venomous trail on the Spring/Summer 2017 runway in London. This shoe is not a snake, but another predator of the reptile family: A Croc. Back in 2002 when Crocs first graced the world with their presence, they had a vision of creating a simple yet comfortable boat shoe. Who knew by the time 2017 rolled around that these classic clogs, admit it we all wore in middle school, would be paired with the ingenious designs of Mr. Christopher Kane. Prior to their debut, the only place I knew I could find some loyal loving Croc fans was nowhere near the high streets of fashion.
Christopher Kane’s title of his collection is “Make do and Mend” which represents the days when war was upon the Brits. Women had to patch up old clothing to be used again and again because resources were scarce. This concept of recycling fashions has proven popular on the runway in the past as the industry moves towards a more sustainable way of thinking. Kane’s brilliant interpretation of the idea leads us into a world of his fondest childhood memories. Just as I see his past before me, I also see mine staring back at me in the form of rustic orange, mocha brown and clouded blue crocs with natural geode embellishments. And lets not forget about that marble print.
Luckily, Kane has a greater sense of style then I had back in the day. He has somehow made these shoes look, dare I say it, urbanely interesting. (These are nice words for no matter what you do making crocs look chic is hard). It is important to note that he did not collaborate with Crocs to create a whole new fashion forward shoe. His full commitment to pairing the clogs with mostly every outfit, including a dainty lace dress, is commendable but there is nothing fashion forward about it. But then again, opposites do attract.
All this Croc talk has left me with some hard decisions to make. Will I buy them? Will I have full confidence in wearing them? Will I see style bloggers sporting these come spring? Who is going to decide if these really are cool? Are we all confused about our love/hate relationship with Crocs? These questions leave me with two thoughts. The greatest designers are the ones who can completely shock an audience and I must applaud Kane for doing just that. I must also give credit where credit is due to Crocs because this was one smart business move for their company. You guys may think you have tricked us all, but I am not fully convinced. Now the question is, will you wear them?