Crocs continues to make sales despite hard times for fashion

Halfway between a comfort icon and a stylistic abomination, Crocs are the fashion equivalent of a summer hit: everyone criticizes them, but in the end, almost no one can do without them. Super colorful, incredibly comfortable, yet aesthetically questionable, these shoes made of expanded resin, called Croslite, have conquered the world, seamlessly transitioning from hospital wards to the runways of Fashion Week. Declared one of the 50 worst inventions in history by Time Magazine, Crocs seem to embody the perfect paradox: both mocked and desired at the same time, a pop phenomenon that continues to grow despite (or perhaps because of) the controversies. Born in 2002 as boating shoes and quickly adopted by doctors and nurses for their unparalleled comfort, Crocs have undergone an unexpected evolution, transforming from a symbol of practicality to an emblem of a deliberately anti-aesthetic fashion.

According to Lyst, in 2021, the brand saw a 75% increase in online searches, thanks in part to collaborations with luxury brands like Balenciaga and rebellious designers such as Simone Rocha and Christopher Kane. While journalist and critic Robin Givhan describes Crocs as «a challenge to good taste», adding that they shouldn't even be called shoes, their success proves that the concept of desirability in the fashion system has long been detached from traditional notions of beauty and aesthetic harmony. The brand continues its unstoppable rise, closing 2023 with a record revenue of $4 billion and further solidifying its position in 2024 with a 7.4% increase in revenue in the third quarter compared to the same period the previous year, projecting corporate revenue growth of 2-2.5% for 2025.

The most important market for the brand is America: young Americans love wearing them to school paired with a comfortable wardrobe, mostly consisting of pajamas worn outside. It is therefore not surprising that, according to a report by investment bank Piper Sandler, Crocs are among their favorite brands, a success also driven by collaborations with artists like Bad Bunny and Justin Bieber. However, since last October, more and more American states have started to ban Crocs in schools (with suspension as a penalty), reaching a total of twenty states so far. Specifically, Lake City Elementary School, south of Atlanta, changed its internal rules stating that «all students must wear closed-toe shoes for safety reasons (no Crocs)». In Florida, LaBelle College took similar measures, and Bessemer City High School in Alabama banned them, followed by other institutions. Besides schools, even Disney World has prohibited the use of perforated clogs on escalators for safety reasons. According to the company, children, who are particularly energetic at that age, easily trip while wearing Crocs, which, lacking proper ankle support, could pose a hazard in emergency situations. Then there is the issue of Jibbitz, those small decorative charms inserted into the shoe holes, which, according to major American institutions, distract students during lessons.

While fashion thrives on irony and subversion, amidst trolls and memes, Crocs have become the manifesto of the anti-luxury movement: the epitome of excess, kitsch elevated to status symbol, the ugly turned irresistibly cool. Controversial yet omnipresent, these shoes are not just a trend, like ugly sneakers, for example, but rather a reflection of a society that has seemingly fully embraced the oscillation between the ridiculous and the genius. Meanwhile, despite the risk of losing a significant portion of consumers, the company is preparing to enter new markets; it has recently collaborated with Barbour to showcase the English countryside, teamed up with the brand Bark to design dog boots, and launched a pair of sneakers far more functional than the classic clogs. While the company has emphasized that sales of its many models have not been affected by the recent bans in American schools, it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold: ironically, the prohibition might even increase young Americans' desire to wear them.