This past Friday, YEEZY fan account YEEZY Mafia leaked a promotional photo from an upcoming issue of British music and fashion magazine, The Face. The image showed the soon to be released YEEZY Foam Runners and naysayers on Twitter went off all day long. Critics were quick to point out the Foam Runners resemblance to foam clog brand Crocs, and many dismissed the design as a clear misstep on Ye’s part.
The thing is… criticise the Foam Runners all you want, but if you’re under the impression that Kanye has an upcoming failure on his hands, you couldn’t be more wrong. Crocs have never been more popular in youth culture.
The YEEZY foam runners have since been officially announced on The Face’s Instagram, and while we initially suspected the Foam Runner was purely a speculative name, it turns out that’s indeed what these shoes will be called. Keep in mind that running in possibly rubber shoes with giant holes in them is a recipe for a disaster. Especially with no socks.
Maybe you’ll be able to run in them underwater. Maybe.
I'd rather eat a pineapple pizza with a side of raisins than wear these #YeezyCrocs pic.twitter.com/QsINih7gIR
— Stu Schwartz (@StuntmanStu) September 13, 2019
I didn’t think that anything could be uglier than crocs, but I was wrong. #YeezyCrocs pic.twitter.com/zz01Auqjjw
— Roger (@MissesThe90s) September 13, 2019
If you’re still puzzled as to why Kanye West is designing a shoe so obviously influenced by Crocs, a brand that is seemingly universally mocked and despised, you haven’t been paying attention. Business Insider reports that Piper Jaffray’s survey of teen preferences from 2018 shows that Crocs are the 13th most popular footwear brand amongst teens, which might not sound impressive until you consider that in 2017 the brand was ranked 38th. Crocs aren’t just coming up, they’re coming fast.
If you’re still not convinced, look no further than the foam clog brand’s two-time collaboration with Post Malone. Yes, you read that right — Crocs has collaborated with Post Malone not once, but twice. The collaboration came about after the brand hit up the rapper when he tweeted “U can tell a lot about a man by the Jibbitz in his Crocs.” Jibbitz being the charms that people stick in the holes of their Crocs.
The Post Malone Crocs are just as tacky as you might’ve expected. If you hate the Foam Runners, you’re not going to end up liking these. The duo’s first collaboration, the Post Malone x Crocs Dimitri Clog featured Post’s very own custom devil Post Co. logo pattern printed across an off-white foam clog, and his second, The Barbed Wire Clog, featured a coiled barbed wire pattern over a bright yellow clog. Both pairs came with six unique Jibbitz.
So how did Posty do with the collab? According to Bustle, the Barbed Wire Clog sold out in 10 minutes. That’s faster than any Croc has the right to sell. Of course, it’s easy to think, “Yeah, but that’s Posty! He’s wild! Tacky is his whole vibe!” But explain Ariana Grande, the biggest modern pop star in the world who just last week posted a photo on Instagram of herself dressed in a white pair of Crocs with white socks.
Are you telling us that if Ariana Grande wore a pair of Ye’s Croc-inspired shoes people wouldn’t suddenly think they were fire as f*ck? Come on.
Okay, but lowbrow comfort is in right now. This all fits under that heading, right?
Nope. Luxury fashion brand, Balenciaga has also collaborated with the brand on several footwear drops, one of which held a list price of $1,075. Yes. Somewhere, someone bought a Balenciaga Croc for over a grand. Believe it.
Read the full story on Uproxx here.
