Is 2023 the year when Crocs will be the dominant trend?
Not necessarily.
In the past, Birkenstock shoes, which were also classified as ugly shoes by everyone, have grown by leaps and bounds this year, and have quickly become the most hit shoes at the moment, none of them.
It is not an exaggeration at all. According to statistics from the American shoe retailer “Foot Locker”, searches for Birkenstocks have increased by 225% compared with last year.
The popularity of this pair of ugly shoes is not only driven by the Clean Fit style, but also the movie “Barbie” pushed it to the top.
In the movie, Birkenstocks were compared to “explore the true meaning of the universe”, and the official also replaced it with a new slogan “Just like what you see in the movie, it has a sense of comfort that people can’t refuse.”
Under the superposition of “Barbie” and Kendall’s double grass buff, in July, Birkenstock shoes officially ushered in a rush to buy.
If Crocs rely on new marketing and new gameplay to subvert the aesthetics of Generation Z, then this pair of Birkenstocks, which were once considered “ugly” to be comparable to Crocs, has relied on their charm for two hundred years? Let’s find out today.
A century-old brand, custom insoles for the royal family, the more comfortable you travel
At this moment, how many brands are eager to be able to match the top pink Barbie.
But only Birkenstock appeared directly in the film, and the traffic came naturally without any effort.
It doesn’t just appear in movies. The protagonist is also wearing it when he is photographed going out shopping, which proves that the comfort is perfect.
Many people mistakenly think that “Birkenstock shoes” is the name of a kind of footwear, but Birkenstock is actually a brand.
It is precisely because of this brand that there are so many similar models today. To be precise, all Birkenstocks on the market are “copied” from it.
Why is everyone scrambling to make Birkenstocks?
The most important reason is because it is a pair of extremely comfortable slippers.
And all this goes back to 1774, the birth of the first pair of Birkenstock Birkenstock shoes.
Since that era, German shoemaker Johann Adam Birkenstock has crafted pairs of high-quality shoes with exquisite craftsmanship.
The craftsmanship of the Birkenstock family has been passed down from generation to generation, and they also provide customized insole services for the royal family. They have been exploring how to make the soles of the feet more comfortable and healthy from the beginning to the end.
In 1896, the world’s first pair of shoes with arch elastic insoles were born.
Who would have thought that when other brands were still thinking about how to make good-looking shoes, Birkenstock’s shoemakers were already thinking about ergonomic design.
This is the brilliant idea of the grandson of Johann Adam Birkenstock. He observed that people wear flat shoes, but the feet are obviously curved. If an insole that can fit the curve is made, it will definitely be very popular.
The “custom-made for the feet” insole is made of cork oak bark in the Mediterranean area, which is crushed and mixed with latex for compression molding.
It simulates an insole that conforms to the concave-convex structure of the sole bones, muscles and ligaments, which can provide enough support for long-term walking and standing, and will not tire the feet during exercise.
Thanks to this refreshed “feet” insole, Birkenstock’s healthy and comfortable brand concept has been established.
Its exclusive core handicraft just makes up for the vacancy in the shoe ring market, and it has become the darling of the German upper class in just a few years.
Birkenstock is definitely a brand that will “dead in one thing”.
Over the past ten years, other brands may have developed new products, but it is still researching how to make people’s feet more comfortable.
Since 1913, they are no longer limited to their own research and development, but have found cooperation with leaders in the medical field to create and promote the concept of healthy shoes.
Later, after being highly affirmed by the hospital professor, Friedrichsheim’s Hospital specially invited the brand to make shoes for wounded soldiers.
Birkenstock, which has always only provided shoes for niche groups, finally opened up a new market in 1964.
That year, the Madrid Model, the first Birkenstock slippers, was officially launched.
Like the previous insole, the cork concave and convex design is also used on this slipper.
Birkenstock simulates the state of the foot on the sand, and the toe and heel positions have ergonomic depressions, giving an excellent sense of wrapping and balance.
This is the secret of the brand’s success: everyone can wear the sole that suits them best.
The cork and special sole design magnify pragmatism and comfort infinitely to meet the needs of everyone’s feet.
The Birkenstocks that Jobs also loved, there are so many styles
Birkenstock has repeatedly proved that the aesthetics will change, and the appearance is only second. People are more willing to pay for comfort.
Although this type of slipper seems difficult to be linked to “fashion”, it has repeatedly appeared on the feet of celebrities and stars.
Birkenstocks became popular across Europe in the 70s after a woman named Margot Fraser discovered them while on vacation and brought them back to her country.
After wearing and interpreting many supermodels Kate Moss and Heidi Klum, hippies are deeply in love with Arizona shoes.
But when it comes to the love of Birkenstock, it has to be like the Kendall family, Birkenstock shoes have a very high rate of appearance.
To what extent are the other sisters obsessed? Even to the extent that you have to wear it for a wedding.
Actress Frances McDormand walked the red carpet to win awards at the Oscars, and also used bright yellow custom Birkenstocks with a pink and pink Valentino dress.
Some time ago, Birkenstock’s former “living sign” celebrity representative Jobs once again refreshed everyone’s perception.
Many people think that New Balance is the only shoe that Jobs loves. However, looking through the past information, it is found that Birkenstocks are the most commonly worn shoes in his daily life. This pair of brown suede shoes was sold at a price of 154w before…
And Birkenstock, which has been in existence for 250 years, has created a variety of classic shoe styles. Many styles you have seen are actually called Birkenstock shoes.
1.Arizona
As Birkenstock’s first pair of Birkenstock shoes, Arizona can be regarded as the most classic and the longest-spread style.
Since its inception, the iconic wide-sided double-band design has not changed.
The leather and metal ring buckle on the upper is more comfortable and close to the feet than flip-flops, and more people wear it as a kind of daily slippers, as it appeared in the movie “Barbie”.
But this fabric is not particularly friendly to the rainy season, so Birkenstock also launched the EVA Arizona.
Crocs are full of pressure, and the “competitors” who were originally slightly inferior in breathability, after continuous adjustment and improvement of comfort, provide consumers with a variety of choices. Now “who is the king of summer slippers” is really hard to say .
2.Boston
Who is the most popular Boston half-open sandals, it must be Birkenstock, and its Boston Birkenstock shoes have always been the style that various brands follow.
The overall shape is more casual and lazy, round and cute. Many Japanese fans have a soft spot for Boston, which is super inclusive.
It can be used as slippers in summer, and because of the earth color and the characteristics of suede, it is casual and fashionable, and it will not be hidden in the shoe cabinet in winter.
It can cope with spring, summer, autumn and winter, and various outfits. It is no wonder that Boston’s sales continue to rise, and it has been promoted to the top star, becoming the brand’s best-selling shoe.
3.Madrid
Although the popularity of Madrid is not as good as the previous two models, the audience is relatively small, but its creative inspiration is to pay tribute to Spain, and the local sales performance is quite impressive.
The single-strap design greatly reduces the extra weight and makes the feet appear slender after wearing it, which is very popular among girls.
4.Giza
Unlike Madrid, Gizeh’s audience is more male.
It uses two styles of metal buckle, Essentials and Buckle, which are more matching than ordinary flip flops.
The existence that has been “imitated, never surpassed”
With the trend of Athleisure and Clean Fit becoming more and more turbulent, Birkenstock has also entered the ranks of “ugly shoes” into mainstream fashion items that cannot be missed.
No matter how people laughed at the ugliness of Birkenstocks, it didn’t affect the sales at all. It sold 20 million pairs a year. There should be no slipper brand that can surpass it.
However, Birkenstock did not want to position itself as a fashion brand from the very beginning, even after rejecting Supreme’s cooperation invitation, it put down the cruel words “Blindly chasing fashion is like prostitution” and let the number one trendy brand touch Full of nails.
This has led to many brands that were rejected, directly launching their own Birkenstocks.
Not only the niche Japanese Hender Scheme often encounters the embarrassment of being mistaken for Birkenstock, but also many big names.
Every year, Marni launches a shoe named FUSSBETT, always using Birkenstock as a prototype for transformation.
With the lessons learned from Supreme, Off White chose “self-reliance and self-improvement” and launched Spongesole.
Even if the design is more street-like, you can still see how many Birkenstock shadows are at a glance.
Not only fashion brands and niche brands will do this, Birkenstock is actually quite popular in the high-end luxury circle.
HERMÈS has launched expensive versions of Birkenstocks, with all kinds of high-grade fabrics and accessories installed on the shoes.
To say that the topic is raised, it is the Boston-style Birkenstock shoes of Balenciaga’s 2024 spring and summer series, which caused a lot of controversy when it was released.
In addition to the more recognizable five-finger shape, the rounded Baotou and Birkenstock’s classic buckle design are said to be too similar to the original.
Balenciaga then came out to explain, which itself is a tribute to Birkenstock.
“It has been imitated, but never surpassed”, it is Birkenstock.
Faced with one after another of “tribute” incidents, Birkenstock announced that it will apply for appearance protection patents for many of its classic shoes.
What Birkenstock advocates is that health and comfort are the final attribution of the feet. When most brands learn from it, it is just for the current popular appearance and completely ignores the real core of Birkenstock shoes.
Perhaps it is precisely because the concept is so unwavering that its unique charm is even more evident.
Since its establishment more than two hundred years ago, Birkenstock has always been very low-key.
When Marc Jacobs brought Arizona to the Perry Ellis spring and summer fashion show, the reputation of this shoe was directly opened in the fashion circle.
But even if there is a good precedent, Birkenstock still maintains a strict selection approach in the face of a steady stream of brands that invite joint cooperation.
Those who can cooperate with it must have the same unwavering philosophy and style as themselves. Those who follow the trend will basically be eliminated, so there are only a handful of joint names that can be produced so far.
Finally, in 2020, Birkenstock launched the high-end brand line 1774.
1774 is an innovative branch line, and you must cooperate with it if you want to cooperate with it.
Birkenstock hopes to provide it to people who like the brand in this way to meet everyone’s fashion needs.
Jil Sander, known for his minimalist aesthetic, is a rare brand that can hit it off with Birkenstock.
It is unassuming and has its own unique style, which is in contrast to the brands on the market that lose their own style in pursuit of trends.
At that time, the two parties cooperated to launch a joint model, which was sold out immediately after it was put on the shelves, and gained a large number of loyal fans.
In the past two years, the joint name of Birkenstock and Japanese fashion giant Beams is also very successful.
The cooperative shoe ZURICH creates ALL BLACK aesthetics and follows the minimalist style.
The upper is made of black suede, with black metal buckles and black soles, showing a sense of luxury.
This year, the two sides cooperated again, using Arizona as the main product to launch two colors of milk tea Taupe and gray Gray, which are full of versatility.
Whether it is possible to max out social media is not a category considered by Birkenstock. Like the cooperation with the previous two brands, they are both plain and low-key, but they have created extraordinary results.
Oliver Reichert, Birkenstock’s current CEO, has always emphasized that Birkenstock is beyond fashion in an interview with The New Yorker, and he is not calculating and catering to every trend at all.
If too many people start buying Birkenstocks without knowing it, the brand cannot afford it.
Oliver Reichert believes that this is not an arrogant attitude, but that “fashion” will always exist and it will continue to change.
Only by not caring too much about how fashion changes can you insist on being yourself.
