Are Crocs cool now?

Yes, Crocs. The holey rubber ‘ugly’ shoes beloved by hard-working chefs, kids on the go and gardening grandmas. They may break every rule in the fashion book, but what it really all comes down to is comfort. Crocs are the ideal pandemic shoe: they’re easy to slip on and off, undeniably comfortable and unlike slippers, you can wear them outside the house.

First made for sports enthusiasts and sailors in 2002, Crocs were near bankruptcy in 2009 before leaning into their divisiveness. “You love us or hate us. That’s ok, because that means you’re paying attention to us,” said Michelle Poole, the president of Crocs.

Designer Demna Gvasalia gave Crocs a high-fashion makeover for the Balenciaga spring 2018 ready-to-wear show, where he dressed models in platform clogs, complete with Croc’s signature add-on charms featuring the Balenciaga logo, flowers and the Italian flag. “It’s a very innovative shoe,” Gvasalia said of the collaboration. “It’s light, it’s a one-piece foam mould and to me, these kinds of techniques and working with these kinds of materials is very Balenciaga.” He followed up the style with a second collaboration, debuting a stiletto style Crocs clog at Balenciaga’s spring 2022 runway show, including a jet-black pair complete with spike appliqués.

Christopher Kane surprised spectators at his 10th-anniversary collection show in 2016 when his models walked down the runway wearing custom marbled and bejewelled Crocs clogs. The shoes received mixed feelings from the fashion crowd, but Kane simply said “Crocs are great, I love them! I don’t really care what anyone thinks.”

But the biggest pop culture win for Crocs in 2021 was being the first ugly shoe to step out onto the Oscars red carpet, as worn by DJ Questlove, in gold. Crocs is the master of headline-making collaborations, teaming with everyone from Post Malone and DJ Diplo to Justin Bieber. “Crocs with socks is definitely the move,” Bieber says of his Crocs collab. “They’re comfortable, they’re fashionable, and most importantly it’s fun to bring your own style to how you wear them.” 

But not everyone agrees. Victoria Beckham let us know her feelings about the shoe when she said she would “rather die” than wear the lilac Crocs Justin Bieber sent her. 

In May, rapper Nicki Minaj caused the Crocs website to crash when she posted a picture of herself on Instagram wearing a pair of hot pink bedazzled Crocs.

Love them or loathe them, Crocs are here to stay.