When will the ‘clunky slides’ boom end?

From the Yeezy Slides to Louis Vuitton’s ‘Pool 55’ version, summer sandals continue to be designed based on the ‘ugly‘ inspiration that has presided over trends since the pandemic. A movement that also drinks from the ‘dad-core‘, as a transversal -and intergenerational- aesthetic that seems not to have stopped at any time and / or have fallen into the abysmal cemetery of micro-trends of the Internet.

In fact, the slip-on sandals trend seems to be now stronger than ever. And the fact is that society or the fashion communities are no longer only uniformed in the streets with Birkenstock slides or Boston clogs. In those same enclaves, there are also more eccentric or futuristic iterations such as the technological Salomon mules, Merrell’s Hydro Moc Bloom, 3D molded flip-flops or JW Anderson’s Wellipets.

The usefulness of Reebok’s Beatnik clogs or Suicoke sandals may have marked the beginning of this phenomenon, becoming the predecessor silhouettes of this whole universe in full expansion, which, during the years following their debut, joined the collective taste for the GORP. Functionality then merged with resistance to walk through an unusual post-pandemic reality.

Within this macro-trend in which beauty is no longer pursued, but rather the aesthetic impact or eccentricity of footwear, Crocs continues to launch countless silhouettes, increasingly elevated and robust, which no longer have anything to do with their initial identity related to the niche or marginal sphere of the classic adventurer, both jungle and urban. An evolution and/or ascension that has also been glimpsed with its collaborations with Balenciaga, launching versions such as the ‘Crocs Pool‘ in different tones and prints.

FROM SPORTSWEAR TO HIGH-END

From ASICS to New Balance or Nike, all the brands in the system are turning their sneakers into slides or mules. An emerging design trend that positions the sneaker-mule as the silhouette of the season, representing sophistication and urban informality from the bottom of the look, as reflected by the swoosh brand with its Nike Air More Uptemplo Slide Back.

Despite the notoriety that sneaker-mules have acquired, the clunky slides themselves have been proliferating for a long time, as if they were part of a golden age that never ends. An era that continued to be eternalized by Louis Vuitton, the latest luxury brand to reinterpret this type of sandal with its ‘LV Pool 55‘, launched in May, made of cushioned rubber sealed by the house’s monogram.

After all, the launching of this type of sandals is becoming commonplace, both by luxury houses and niche or sportswear firms, considering the influx and impact they are having. Even so, following the usual cycle of contemporary fashion, we can’t help but wonder if sooner or later the clunky bubble will burst.