Then, something remarkable happened. After years of being periodically trendy, comfy shoes took off during the early pandemic. Crocs started selling like crazy. Last year, Birkenstock went public. And elite designers have started collaborating with mass-market comfort brands, sometimes festooning their joint creations with ribbons or pearls. A series of such collaborations has emerged over the past few years: Miu Miu x New Balance, Cecilie Bahnsen x Asics, Collina Strada x Ugg, Sandy Liang x Salomon, and Simone Rocha x Crocs, to name a few. Multiple pairs of tricked-up Crocs clogs have appeared on runways lately, and Fendi x Red Wing boots graced the runway at Milan Fashion Week. Birkenstock has collaborated with designers including Jil Sander, Proenza Schouler, and Manolo Blahnik. At this point, nearly every canonical American comfort-shoe brand has paired up with a runway designer. Yes, many of these shoes are not conventionally beautiful, and that's part of the fun. The fashion...
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