Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t deny that ugly shoes are dominating the footwear conversation this year. There’s no doubt we’ve hit peak “ugly”. Itâs impossible to scroll through Instagram without seeing a bastardised variation of one of Balenciagaâs infamous Triple-S sneakers or hearing about a new brand that claims to be uglier than the last.
What 2020 has signalled though, is that the category of âugly shoesâ has become an even bigger entity since the launch of the Triple S in 2017. In a post-Dad sneaker world, the interesting shift in âugly shoesâ now is less about the downright terrifying, bulbous footwear of the past and now about true OG ugly shoes – the type that are usually reserved for chefs or outdoorsy, green-fingered rambling folks.
Over the course of the past 12 months, influential IG pages like Organiclab.zip have been silently questioning our taste-levels by posting styles like Merrelâs Hydro Moc as an authentic alternative to the YEEZY Foam Runner, while the alluring shots of Birkenstocks in perfectly curated homes over at Hidden.ny have made us covet the German brandâs Boston slip-on once again. One of the biggest opinion dividing and taste-questioning shoes this year though (if not ever) are Crocs. GQ editors werenât alone when they said âWe Can’t Believe It, Either: Crocs Are Cool Nowâ but the fact of the matter is that the foam plastic footwear, known for being easy on the feet if less so on the eyes, has become more popular than ever. In fact, Crocs is one of the few major retail brands to navigate the Covid-19 era successfully. For some, Crocs are the perfect shoes to wear when no one can see you wear them. For others, a pair of the Chinatown Markets x The Grateful Dead clogs is a fashion statement. Even the editor in writing vowed he would never buy a pair when he first laid eyes upon Crocs about 15 years ago but is now a proud owner of the aforementioned collaboration.
According to WSJ, Crocs was the only footwear brand among the top 30 tracked by researchers at NPD Group to record sales growth in March, a 14% increase compared with the same month in 2019. During 2020, Croc sales on StockX grew 750% with the average pair sold on the platform going for twice the price at retail. Crocs was also one of two companies, along with sheepskin boot-maker UGG, to log growth in Aprilâa month when many stores were closed. And since Autumn arrived UGG boots have only gotten more popular as customers seek out ugly boots to replace ugly sandals post-summer. Since September demand for UGG boots is growing 24 per cent week-on-week. Over that month, there were more than 41,000 searches for the brand,’ a report by UGG read.
It is a mighty turnaround for the comfy cropped boot, which first appeared in Australia in the 1960s. The history of UGGs is much contested. The term âuggâ is a generic word for slippers in Australia, a style that was originally favoured by Aussie surfers thanks to its functional fleece linings. UGG, the brand wasnât founded until the late 70s when Australian-born surfers Brian Smith and Doug Jensen moved to LA and shared their love of sheepskin with fellow Americans. âUGG is one of the original cozy shoesâ explains Jian DeLeon, founder of popular IG page Muleboyz. âBefore they became synonymous with brunch, people forget their history as footwear designed by surfers to wear off the beach.â
By the mid-1980’s, the UGG brand became a symbol of relaxed southern California culture, gaining momentum through surf shops and other shops up and down the coast of California, from San Diego to Santa Cruz. UGG boots reached beyond the beach, popping up in big cities and small towns all over, and in every level of society. Girls wore their surfer boyfriend’s pair of UGG boots like a letterman jacket. When winter came along, UGG boots were in ski shops and were seen in lodges from Mammoth to Aspen.Â
Photo courtesy of Vogue.com
The UGG brand began to symbolize those who embraced sport and a relaxed, active lifestyle. A cultural shift occurred as well – people were embracing and feeling empowered by living a more casual lifestyle and UGG became one of the symbols of this lifestyle. By 2000, a love that began on the beaches had become an icon of casual style. It was at this point that Hollywood celebs like Pharrell, BeyoncĂ© and Nicole Richie were snapped by paparazzi stepping out in UGGs to grab their morning coffee. But it was in 2000 when UGG Sheepskin boots were first featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things that the global UGG phenomenon would truly take off.
Naturally, celeb endorsements caused an explosion of UGG sales on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK it was Sienna Miller who caused WAGs, reality TV stars and teen Sloane Rangers to rush out and cop a pair after she wore a turned-down chestnut-coloured pair to Glastonbury. But before long, over-saturation meant they quickly dropped out of favour with the public. The comfy shoes got an ugly reputation pretty quickly, and slowly dropped off the scene.
In recent years, their fashion credentials have waned, though they pop up occasionally: in 2017 Jeremy Scott along with help of internet sensation and rapper Lil Yachty, launched a collaboration loaded with glittering crystals, flames, and the words âUGG Lifeâ (get it?) emblazoned on the back. In 2018, UGGs also popped up at Paris menâs fashion week, in their most edgy incarnations yet when Parisian label Y/Project offered up elephantine and thigh-high versions to which the brand designer Glen Martens declared wearing them was like âputting your thighs in butter.â They were also the star of the show at influential Japanese luxury brand Sacai, where they came in grey or camel versions, with the addition of a chunky knitted red and white upper.
UGG x Y/Project Fall 2018 Campaign Photo: Arnaud Lajeunie / Courtesy of Y/Project x UGG
Up until now though, the boneless timbs have only really captured the attention of the capital âFâ fashion crowd and naturally a female-led audience. While influencers like Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, and Rihanna have certainly reignited an appetite in the mass market, it’s done little to peak interest for men, especially for streetwear’s sneaker-obsessed audience. But delve a little deeper in some of the corners of IG and amongst reseller listings and it does appear that the UGG wave is starting to catch on, just not in the typical style weâre used to. Think custom Chrome Hearts versions that come embellished with the brands gothic sterling silver trims or perhaps the highly coveted and rare UGG x BAPE slip-ons that saw the classic boot reimagined in a slip-on silhouette, complete with BAPEâs iconic camo branded across the suede exterior.Â
Last year, streetwear designers Heron Preston and Masaaki Homma of Mastermind put their own spin on the design too. Prestonâs Mini Urban Tech HP was a waterproof boot featuring his signature high-vis detailing on the sides, while Mastermindâs unexpected capsule saw UGGâs classic short boot reworked with the street-punk imagery of Hommaâs fledgeling label. During October/November, sales of Mastermind x UGG collaboration sold as high as ÂŁ500+ on StockX in recent weeks.
For DeLeon, he believes the reason for UGGâs revival among men in recent years is down to their ironic style. âUGGs have become like Crocs in the sense that people have worn them in an ironic way to them become unironically cool. Couple that with some great new collabs like mules from Heron Preston and two of my personal favourites, the tread-soled NEIGHBORHOOD Tasman and the square-toed Eckhaus Latta mules, and theyâve become a symbol for fashion outsiders and envelope-pushing early adopters.â
UGG x Heron Preston 2020
For Preston the appeal to wear UGGâs came via an unexpected spotting on the streets in NYC. âI didnât know how to pull them off honestly until I saw someone in New York wear them in a really sick wayâ he said in an interview with Highsnobiety. âI think he had some camo cargos pulled over the boots and it looked fresh. I went to buy a pair the day after.â The collaboration came about after Preston showed the pair on IG, and one of his close friends who had started working for UGG got in touch and suggested they come together for a collaboration.
In September, It-bag designer Telfar Clemens wore a pair of the ultra mini boots to announce that his label would collaborate with UGG for a 2021 collection. The designer released a teaser showing the collaboration’s logo where the middle ‘G’ in ‘UGG’ becomes his famous ‘TC’ insignia. ‘I find UGG really sexy, a soft kind of rugged,’ he said discussing the partnership. ‘I’ve always been obsessed with a certain kind of ubiquity when something really unique ends up on everybody.
Outside of designer collaborations, the brand has been embraced, adopted, and re-contextualized by a number of hip-hopâs most flamboyantly dressed rappers. Post-gender rapper Young Thug has shown off pairs on his IG and in music videos like âBlanguageâ, while local ATL rapper and singer Sah Bibii has also given shout outs to the brand in his âHousepartyâ where he famously sings âthey thought I was gay when I had the UGGs on.â Swedish artist Yung Lean is known for his ironic take on 00s style and UGGs have been a big part of this nostalgic look. Even Lil Wayne, who has been known to wear snowboard boots courtside at basketball games, has been spotted in Y/Projects flamboyant versions.Â
On IG, influential figures like Stussy ambassador Jordan Vickors and Seventh Heaven founder, John Ross, have been known to flex short boots off-duty, too. At the time of writing this article StockX is already seeing live activity on UGGs, with active bids on over 10 different UGGS colourways and collabs.
But UGGâs resurgence this year is also thanks to the global coronavirus pandemic. Since lockdown consumed our day-to-day life, we were indoors a lot more. We didnât need to dress up or worry so much about how we looked for other people. In other words, functionality increased in importance and it suddenly became incredibly appealing to wear an inherently unassuming, perhaps ugly, functional. And while UGGâs still have a certain social stigma around them, theyâre also known to be incredibly comfy. Suddenly, UGGâs sound like the prime choice for pandemic footwear.Â
In the current climate, the UGG renaissance makes perfect sense. âSure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but there has to be something said about the unapologetic ugliness of UGGs and how liberating and comfy they feel,â writes Laura Antonia Jordan of Grazia. âThey put up no pretence of being cool and, in that sense, there is a refreshing authenticity to them: I am what I am, they say, take it or leave itâ. As many countries enter a second phase of lockdown and winter sets in, itâs not hard to see why the allure of UGGs and their cosy shearling linings make them even an attractive proposition for folks looking for something functional and cosy to get them through the holidays. And in a year where we’ve all leaned into the joys of comfort dressing, whatâs better than wearing something as toasty as slippers outside and getting away with it?
