How Comfortable Shoes Became the Coolest Thing in Fashion - GQ

Heron Preston's Uggs.

Ugg isn’t alone. In recent seasons, Birkenstock has worked with Concepts, a beloved sneaker retailer with brick-and-mortar shops in Boston and New York; 032c, a glossy German art magazine that has its own in-house fashion label; and Opening Ceremony, the purveyors of downtown Manhattan cool. (And of course, Rick Owens.) But it’s perhaps the collaborations that didn’t happen that are the biggest signifier of the brand’s newfound cachet in fashion. Last year, Birkenstock’s CEO Oliver Reichert told New York Magazine that it turned down partnerships with both Supreme and Vetements, arguably two of the biggest—or at least most influential—players in the modern fashion landscape.

“We are beyond fashion,” a representative from the global Birkenstock headquarters told me via email. “Fashion is an important value, but well-being and comfort are equally valid. Our product has the same orthopedic footbed and heritage since 1774. Creatives all over the industry wear our sandals.”

Whether or not Birkenstock is “beyond fashion,” certain limited-edition collaborations have invited a frenzy not unlike the one that accompanies the release of hyped sneakers. When Concepts dropped a collaborative lime-green, white-soled Birkenstock, streetwear blogs wrote about it as if was a rare Air Jordan release. (It sold out just as quickly, too.) But, notably, menswear bloggers and style influencers are also wearing the run-of-the-mill versions. The love for the non-limited shoes fits feels right at home with how well-dressed men have embraced non-fashion brands like Dickies, Carhartt, and Patagonia in their daily wardrobes.

The major players in the sneaker world knows that comfort is a key factor, too. Adidas iterated away at its Ultra Boost technology until it finally unlocked a cushion-y streamlined sole that became a runway hit. The majority of Nike’s most recent hits—the React Element 87, VaporMax, and the Air Max 270—are all engineered to either be softer or better-cushioned than the brand’s other soles. A fashionable silhouette, it seems, will only get you so far these days.

The comfort wave is cresting in more esoteric corners of menswear, too. The tech-heavy sandals made by Japanese brand Suicoke continue to gain popularity among American men, bolstered by stateside collaborations with labels like John Elliot and Aimé Leon Dore. John Mayer, an expert-level wearer of new-wave footwear, showed off his personal collection of $600 Visvim Christo sandals for this very magazine. Tyler, the Creator is known to wear sandals with suits, and it seems that no amount of money will stop Justin Bieber from wearing hotel slippers in public. Even Supreme is releasing a pair of terry cloth slippers this spring.

Alife's Crocs collab.

We’re at a curious moment in men’s footwear. Is everyone tired of wearing cool, hard-to-get sneakers? (Or just the hassle of trying to buy cool, hard-to-get sneakers?) Perhaps it is that as men’s fashion gets wilder and wilder, guys are turning to these longstanding footwear brands for a moment of normalcy. It also may simply be that guys just want to wear comfy kicks. If you’re wearing expensive Prada trousers with Patagonia fleece jackets, or Dickies pants with Dries van Noten button-up shirts, a pair of practical shoes feels like a breath of fresh air, an anchor to keep an outfit from floating into the absurd.

Everyday men have been wearing this type of regular comfort-centric shoes for decades. This goes beyond donning a pair of New Balance 990s or Nike Air Monarchs, ironically or not. Wearing arc-soled clogs or fluffy slippers ups the ante, veering into Mom Shoe territory and making the original dorky dad sneakers feel fashionable by comparison. But it’s no accident that millions turn to these brands to cover their feet, whether it’s the ergonomic design, easy-to-wear silhouettes, or supreme comfort at play. It seems that for once, it’s the fashion crowd that are the ones playing catch-up. And as we’ve seen, well-dressed dudes can still make regularness and comfort footwear look stylish-as-hell. The days of lusting after limited-edition Uggs or Birkenstocks or Danksos with the same fervor as Virgil Abloh-designed Nikes might still be a ways to go. But if and when that day finally comes, at least we’ll all be furiously trying to cop something that is equal parts hype and comfort.

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https://www.gq.com/story/comfortable-mom-shoes-are-cool