CROCS: The future of foot fashion?

We all enjoy donning colorful, clunky shoes whenever possible, whether we're going to attend lectures (which we don’t usually do) or going to Viceroy. Yes, I'm talking about the evergreen footwear brand - Crocs. Again, I’m reminded of how many of my friends responded disparagingly when I brought my pair of Crocs’ clogs and was super excited about them. On the same lines, when Crocs were introduced for the first time in 2002 by Scott Seamans, Lyndon “Duke” Hanson, and George Boedecker Jr., they received quite a lot of reprimand from the fashion hubs and major footwear brands, calling them “ugly” and “unfashionable”. But were they made keeping fashion in mind? Of course not. They were made with only comfort in mind for those who went boating, but the design eventually evolved into the now-iconic Crocs clog. In fact, the idea of something like clogs occurred to the three of them while they were on the boat, and water-filled their entire footwear. They were named after crocodiles because they did appear like that, so yes, even the makers of Crocs were aware that they weren’t really "fashionable."

Over time, they promoted the clogs as comfort footwear that could be worn by someone who went boating and worked round the clock in hospitals and other places. When they realized that the clogs were gaining popularity among all age groups, they introduced many different colors and price ranges of the same. They had used a unique material called Croslite that could not be copied by any of the footwear brands till date, even though many have tried introducing products similar to clogs. 

The only question that arises in one’s mind is, will the company eventually die down as they have only clogs as their main selling product?

Well, most likely not. In the past, Crocs has kept the market engaged with subtle changes in its range of clogs. In addition to their unique design and strong brand image, Crocs also collaborated with many companies, such as Jibbitz, to create customizable charms that can be inserted into the holes of the clogs. This got on the bandwagon and was advertised by showing how people could express their individuality using their own choice of charms. They went to creative and progressive extents of supporting the individuality of people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community as well. They also collaborated with many famous pop stars, such as Justin Bieber, and introduced a collection of limited-edition clogs. Crocs’ collaboration with Balenciaga in 2017 was not the brand’s first foray into high fashion. In 2006, the brand collaborated with fashion designer Christopher Kane to create a line of embellished clogs showcased on the runway during London Fashion Week. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many major businesses suffered from a decline in their revenue, Crocs enjoyed a period of immense sales as everyone worked long hours at home looking for something comfortable to wear. More so, with the current Gen Z obsession with athleisure and loungewear, Crocs sees a bright future. Hence, despite the current situation in the market, which sees a slight decline in their revenues, Crocs will make a comeback with any high-end collaboration and an interesting change of taste for their iconic clogs, which do not fail to disappoint most.

- Anika Agarwal