With heels attached at the back, trimmed with faux fur or decorated with rivets and pearls: in recent years, the company Crocs Inc. has come up with various ideas to give a new image to its plastic slippers. With success, because the former no-go shoes have made it into the mainstream. Just as we were getting used to the sight of them, a sobering new Croc trend is popping up on TikTok and Instagram: the so-called “Croots”. Our author tells you what it is and why we shouldn’t close ourselves to the aesthetics of ugliness.
Blue sky, sun. Only the distinctive “Brrrrr” from a pressure washer breaks the silence. A man in his fifties uses exactly this tool to remove dirt from his patio that has accumulated there over the winter. He’s wearing: A faded gray T-shirt with a barely recognizable “Metallica ’96 Word Tour” imprint. The pants: light blue, out of shape over the decades. Footwear: Probably the best-known Croc model: military green Crocs in the “Classic” version.
What makes Crocs so special
The shoe, also known as the “Classic Clog” due to its slipper shape, is open at the back. The front shoe is closed and each has 13 air holes for optimal air circulation. If you fold in the heel strap, the plastic shoe stays where it should be – on the foot, even during the most intensive cleaning of the terrace. The “all-round comfortable shoes”, as the manufacturer calls the model in its online shop, weigh only around 170 grams. If they get dirty, you can simply rinse them under running water. In short: Crocs are easy to care for, durable and comfortable. So, objectively speaking, there’s no reason not to wear these shoes. From a purely objective point of view.
From hate to hip: Crocs’ image changes
The problem with fashion choices is that the fashion conscious rarely decide on a piece of clothing for the sake of convenience alone. We express ourselves and our personality through fashion. In many cases, our clothing reflects our view of the world and how we would like to be seen by others. And: fashion is politics, the Google project also underlines We wear the culturededicated to the “stories that our clothes tell”.
What would have happened if you had told a fashion-conscious person five years ago that she was going shopping at Crocs? First of all, the person would laugh heartily. And then he stated with conviction that he would never wear those shoes in public. Crocs are shoes that men in their 50s wear for gardening. Crocodiles are ugly. And nothing, absolutely nothing for people with style.
This in itself shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lyndon Hanson, Scott Seamans and George Boedecker, founders of Crocs Incorporated, started their company in 2002 with the idea of making their shoes water-repellent to people engaged in navigation or to people working in wetlands, on sale. They were never intended as everyday shoes.
But as word got around that the shoes were very comfortable and cheap at the same time, many people soon wanted a pair of slippers for quickly taking out the trash or working in the garden. Many people who, due to physical limitations, cannot tie their shoe laces and need shoes that are easy to put on, have found – and still find – comfortable slippers in expanded resin to be practical too.
Here’s why Crocs Incorporated could be in 2004 Sales increase tenfold compared to the previous year and secure the patent for the foam resin that makes up the shoes. The first stone was laid to transform the small company specializing in yachting into an international group. Like Ugg Boots, Crocs have become increasingly popular. But while the shoes have always been practical, robust and easy to maintain, their reputation has remained poor. After all, “beautiful” is different, right?
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The marketing machine behind Crocs
But: In the end, financially strong companies can influence current fashion trends. For example, collaborating with influencers like Marianne Theodorsen and stars like Jonathan Van Ness, known from the American version of the Netflix show Queer Eye, drag performers like Sugar Lynch or J-Pop stars like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
The company is now also known for collaborations with famous designers such as the British Christian Cowan or the streetwear shoe designer Salehe Bembury.
And brands like Disney and Hello Kitty and luxury brands like Balenciaga also don’t hesitate to collaborate with Crocs. The Crocs Madame, the first Crocs high heel with a subtle designer logo, is almost legendary.
in one Fastcompany article from 2006 Brand founder Lyndon Hanson points out that Crocs’ main target group is a group of “fun-loving people” who “feel good” about being “brave enough” to wear Crocs in public. But the marketing measures of recent years have meant that Crocs are no longer only worn by courageous fashion pioneers and influencers, but also by “normal” people. More specifically, by people who a few years ago would never have worn Crocs in public, let alone uploaded a photo to Instagram of themselves wearing the shoes.
My thesis is: the really brave are bored with Crocs now, or soon will be. Precisely because shoes are less and less flashy and offensive in everyday life. You really don’t impress anyone anymore when you hit the streets in Crocs. So is this the end of an era where Crocs were still a real political issue? There is no way. Curtain for Croots.
Croots: When two controversies collide
Influencer and YouTube star Safiya Nygaard posted this TikTok a while back, perhaps setting the stage for a new fashion trend. Here you can see the so-called “Croots” – shoes that consist of half of the classic and original “Classic Clogs” from Crocs. Up for Auction: Pink Cowboy Boots. This combination explains the name: Crocs + Boots = Croots. If you now feel the need to throw your smartphone or laptop in a corner and yell “no internet for today!”, I advise you: calm down, please. Breathe. What you are experiencing is a completely natural reaction to, shall we say, the creation of very progressive fashion. After all, croots are not only “hip”, but also controversial.
Because even cowboy boots are not among the fashion trends that are unreservedly recognized in everyday life, but are considered kitschy and dusty in many places, especially when they come in prominent colors such as red. I personally cringe at cowboy boots because I associate them with a very specific breed of celebrity like Joe Exotic (although I’m not sure if Joe Exotic actually wears cowboy boots – to me he’s just a “cowboy dude”. Like). So it’s more about the sensations and memories that certain items of clothing arouse in us.
Unlike me, the trendsetters have already celebrated the return of the traditional boots from the southern US in 2022. But it doesn’t matter if you’re a professional cowboy boot or if it also sends shivers down your spine: if you combine cowboy boots with Crocs, something completely unique and new emerges. Something you can engage in and celebrate. Or triggers a strong defensive reaction in one. Or that it just makes you laugh.
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“Ugly” trends are an opportunity to rethink
If you belong to progressive trendsetters, i.e. people for whom things can’t be too extreme and who don’t shy away from creations that are more haute couture than suitable for everyday use, you might be enthusiastic about Croots at first sight. Or are you more the type that, when you see croots, immediately yell “I CAN’T GET IN THIS!!”? So my advice: take a deep breath. Not all trends become suitable for everyday use and make it into the mainstream.
And ultimately, fashion and the perception of what is and isn’t aesthetically pleasing is always evolving. In the end, decide for yourself whether you want to try this or the next fashion trend. We all have the freedom and privilege to express ourselves in the fashion that best suits our personality and self-image – isn’t it wonderful? As always, live and let live. Incidentally, seemingly “ugly” trends are always an opportunity and a possibility for change, for rethinking and rethinking social values and conformism.
As the example of Crocs shows, croots are very likely to be part of everyday wardrobes in a few years. Who knows which influencer will cause the next hype and how the aesthetic will change next? He is always exciting!
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