Gone are the days when flip-flop sandals were only worn by starving college students and beach bums in bright colors and plastic materials. High-end designers have finally caught onto the versatility and simplicity of the flip-flop sandal Rubber flip-flop maker Havaianas was a major sponsor of the Fall 2009 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The Brazilian label distributed four thousand pairs of men’s and women’s sandals, valued at $20 each and as a line of eager fashionistas crowded the booth in order to attain free customized flip-flops with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week logo printed on the soles. Havaianas investment into Fashion Week was proven to be sound as they successfully promoted their label as a must-have fashion product.
Younger celebrities such as Katie Holmes and Mischa Barton have been photographed wearing flip-flops in rain or shine. And, as far as borrowing your boyfriend’s clothes… the flip-flop is the one type of shoe that both men and women around the world can agree on and inevitably own at least one pair of!
Finding that simple slip on shoe is the only way to deconstruct some dresses, Spring 09 gave us a bevy of possibilities from jewel encrusted with an African Influence (Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Guiseppe Zanotti) to Logo’ed out (Tory Burch and Gucci). The element of a laissez-faire ensemble that ends with a breezy carefree foot accompanies the jumpsuits and tribal safari elements seen on all the catwalks. Designers know that women are not taking themselves too seriously and their dressed down mentality can look casual yet polished with the simple flip of a show.
Notable labels, tend to customize and embellish their designs for the simple shape, for example, luxury label Chanel released their own range of flip-flops and as you would imagine they came with a $345 price tag and sold out before they could even hit the stores. Largerfeld’s message was not only that the quirky jelly shoes are back, but a more 80’s style sportswear assimilation with the obvious logo (camellias were rampant on each shoe be it taffeta or PVC). While the materials are simple enough, high-end designers are careful in adorn the sandals with their signature designs and so it seems to make their sandal the one to buy they put a great deal of intention into their creations.
With designers like Vanessa Bruno, Alice Temperley and Jovovich-Hawk making easy dresses that can be layered for day and embellished for evening, a simple thong sandal now seems the easiest way to go.
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