Christopher Kane, one of London's most prominent designers, showed his 10th anniversary collection inside London's Tate Modern Museum today. In true Kane fashion, he showed a collection of mixed-media looks—from floral applique coats to lurex knitwear, and LBDs held together by chain links. What was most surprising though was the footwear—most of the looks were punctuated with jewel-encrusted Crocs.
While the fashion industry has made everyday footwear like sneakers a veritable trend, no one has yet taken on the plastic shoes beloved by Mario Batali and young children. Christopher Kane dared to go where no high-end designer has yet to go, explaining in his show notes that the collection is inspired by the post WWII feeling of "Make Do and Make Mend" as well as the movement from the city to the countryside—which may very well be where the idea of collaborating with a comfy gardening shoe company came in. Kane made the plastic footwear his own by embedding them with mineral stones like malachite and zebra jasper.
But he wasn't the only designer rethinking comfortable footwear staples. Preen collaborated with UGG on several utilitarian sandals for their pagan-inspired Spring 2017 collection. But only time will tell if Kane's clogs or Preen's lug-sole sandals become the next street style bait.
