That's why we should not underestimate flip-flops

More divisive than gull-wing eyebrows or DIY bleaching, more crucial than the Y2K revival, are flip-flops. And, while we were caught up in the onset of various trends, they began to crowd feeds and magazines almost inadvertently. Catwalks included: The Row offered them in leather and suede, Jacquemus and Coperni with wedges, and Dries van Noten even in velvet. Fashion editors look at them suspiciously: can a legacy of the Y2K dark side-there will be a circle of hell for those who paired them with wide sweatpants and fake tans-ever surpass even crocs in ugly coolness? 

Sidelined for a while by strappy sandals or mules, we had almost forgotten them. Until Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa decided that flip-flops should suddenly become cool again. In that colorful aesthetic patchwork of exaggerated shapes and a kitsch bordering the camp, the lightness of flip-flops became another form of recovery that fell into the vortex of Y2K rediscovery. Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton in miniskirts and very thin heeled flip flops, as well as Marissa Cooper in her sudden mood swings, have all given flip flops a strange form of authority. The year of undoing, however, was 2018, the moment Mary-Kate and Ashely Olsen landed on the cover of WSJ Magazine-the news was that the twins were making their menswear debut with their brand The Row-wearing a simple basic uniform topped with a pair of flip flops. There were Balenciaga's Triple S's, the collaboration between Balenciaga and Crocs, and a buzzing streetwear that produced sneakers in inordinate quantities. 

Coperni SS22

Etro SS23

Blumarine SS22

Burberry Resort 22

MSGM SS22

Yet, the idea of wearing flip-flops has something radical about it: far from being an understated footwear, it is actually characterized by the extreme choice to put everything on display. Radicalization that, since that year, has materialized into flip-flops with experimental designs promoted by collaborations like Fenty x Puma or brands like Dsquared2. In fact, the rediscovery of flip-flops overlapped with the internal crisis in the streetwear market: after a season of empowerment of sneakers in general, trends began to shift to platform and hybrid models - just look at the recent success of Versace's or Valentino's platform shoes -which have decreed the success of a playful component that can no longer be reduced to trash. Exaggerated volumes paired with tie-and-dye dresses, maxi platforms with crop tops, and a chunky attitude have become the aesthetic cornerstones of an imagery that cannot help but vivisect all the building blocks at the heart of Y2K.