This summer, flip-flops should be paired with long pants How the unsuspected flip-flop became a city shoe

In these turbulent times, fashion is dreaming of relaxation. A relaxation that concerns not only the proportions of garments or the softness of materials, but also the carefree quality of looks, their self-satisfied informality, always carefully studied, of course. And riding the long wave of the Y2K revival, with their rough-and-ready, deliberately dishevelled style, a specific combination of elements seems to have emerged from fashion's undergrowth: baggy trousers and flip-flops. In general, the flip-flop, long a quintessential classic of the Italian summer (and of course the Brazilian one) is enjoying a renewed surge in popularity: Havaianas, which literally invented the flip-flop, is churning out collaborations at full speed, the most famous being with Dolce&Gabbana, but also with Isabel Marant and FARM Rio.

Other flip-flops, which we will discuss shortly, made their appearance in the SS26 collections of several brands during the recent fashion weeks; but above all, the public, aided by the season, is searching for them at an intense pace. So why this popularity? The picture becomes more interesting when set against direct experience: flip-flops are no longer a simple beach shoe but can be seen everywhere in the city too, as we were saying, paired with extremely wide trousers or shorts that almost cover them entirely.

A "flip-flop craze"

To understand the popularity of flip-flops, it might be useful to think about how shoe trends have evolved over the past year and, above all, how various fashion brands have reinterpreted the style. First of all, one must appreciate that the combination of long trousers and flip-flops is a derivation of the trend that has seen shoes become increasingly flat and thin, increasingly close to the ground, making the foot disappear beneath a generous drape of oversized trousers.

The tone of this combination, which we will admit is not among the most traditionally elegant, perfectly reflects the taste for a deliberately cheap aesthetic inspired by the mall rats of the late '90s and early 2000s, made up of striped polo shirts, chinos, checked shirts, and V-neck jumpers. It is not only a reaction to the quiet luxury of recent years but almost a delicate perversion of normcore.

The flip-flop goes where the classic pool slide cannot, thanks solely to the functionality of its design, a design that received an interesting, eccentric update in the latest SS26 collection by Chloé, where the silhouette takes on a more bohemian and feminine sensuality through gelatinous materials and elegant construction, through to Alaïa, which in FW26 works on the shape and sensuality of the foot. Meanwhile, Demna brings the flip-flop into his Gucci Riviera, replacing rubber with leather and applying the phantasmagoric double G to the silhouette, turning it into a precious object, though it is Auralee that has made it a signature in its SS26.

Elsewhere, the transformation lies in the very essence and functionality of the object itself: The Row continues to represent the purest and most radical version of the trend, where the simplicity of the form becomes, paradoxically, the true element of luxury. Phoebe Philo, too, in her much-anticipated drops, challenges the boundary between casual and sophisticated through a sculptural and deeply cool design, while in Armani's SS26 collection they become the most refined summer footwear.

An unusual presence in menswear

In all these various incarnations, it is certainly surprising to see the flip-flop on men's runways, not so much because the combination had never been seen before, but because that very combination would normally occur in highly informal contexts and rarely became the focal point of a look. In our country, there are men who refuse to wear shorts, let alone venture into the city in jeans and flip-flops like tourists.

In a world where the men's sandal carries not entirely desirable connotations, ranging from the more, shall we say, Franciscan and monastic to the hippyish, all the way to the infantilism of the Velcro sandal, the flip-flop has managed to continue conveying a sense of agility and vigour. It is no coincidence that it is the only beach shoe not associated with either the elderly or children.

And with global temperatures rising ever higher and cities remaining increasingly populated even in summer, it was only a matter of time before the flip-flop bid farewell to the beaches of Copacabana and arrived on the pavements of Europe's capitals. To wear them in the city, however, there is one single piece of advice to bear in mind: the combination works only if the flip-flops contrast with an otherwise city-appropriate look, if you dress in shorts and a vest, you will simply look like a lost bather 100 kilometres from the sea.