The most unlikely fashion collaboration of the century is about to hit stores (if they don't sell out within minutes online first!) for a second round, in the coming weeks.
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A match made in heaven?
That's right, the high fashion Spanish luxury house Balenciaga is teaming up once more with the iconic clog company we've all loved to hate in years past, Crocs.
These sure-to-sell clogged stilettos were unveiled this past weekend during Balenciaga's Spring/Summer 2022 collection and, as was the case the first time around, trend followers are going absolutely wild for the collaboration. No word has yet been given on how much these will be retailing for but if it's anything like their last collaboration expect to have it cost you a very pretty penny.
Back in 2017, during an interview with French Vogue, Balenciaga's current creative director, Demna Gvasalia, said the clog company was a source of inspiration and expressed how—though very aesthetically different—the two were a perfect match for each other:
We were inspired by Crocs and we worked with them on a Balenciaga reinterpretation. Balenciaga x Crocs isn't impossible, the question of taste is a very subjective value. We'll see if this works in six months' time in the stores.
Skyrocketing profits
Since, it's safe to say the collaboration was a huge commercial success and was even able to put Crocs back on the map in terms of relevance. In the first three months of 2021, sales for Crocs have increased by a whopping 64% to $460 million when compared to the same quarter last year. According to the BBC, pre-tax profit also saw a major increase by growing to $122.5 million between January and March from the previous year's $18.7 million.
Andrew Rees, Croc's chief executive, believes that growing sales will also be reflected for the rest of the year and bleed through the following with the new collaboration sure to add further buzz to the brand. In a statement, Rees said:
The pandemic has allowed us to reach new customers, but I think consumers are also focused on what we can offer them in the future. Sandals is a large product category and the accessible market for us around sandals is about $30 billion globally.
