Crocs are the shoe that people love to hate. They are not topping the style top 10 list, but they are the 2nd fastest growing brand of 2022, beat out only by Meta. Now, the article I read on Fashion United pointed to the brand’s ever present retail solutions. They sell it directly. Amazon sells it. Other retailers sell. They are even on resale sites like StockX. Yeah, yeah, business stuff. But clearly that alone can’t be the reason the brand is growing so fast, because at the end of the day, no matter how many shoes you make, if no one is buying it, it doesn’t matter.
Then there are the collaborations. Justin Bieber. Post Malone. Bad Bunny. Vera Bradley. Harry Potter. This list is getting long and possibly boring you. The brand is associated with trendsetters and major cult followings. That means that people who follow certain celebrities and franchises will want to wear the shoe to. But again that alone can’t be the reason. Those celebrities have multiple items in their wardrobe that aren’t picking up this kind of traction.
As Cam Wolf wrote in October 2020 for GQ, popularity for the shoe surged at a time when people didn’t have to wear serious shoes anymore. Who was to judge you at home wearing Crocs, aside from your critical sibling? But even then, many of us have moved on to dress up again and show out in public. So it can’t just be a sense of “no one is even gonna see me anyway.”
The vision statement for Crocs is “Everyone comfortable in their own shoes.”
It is an easily glossed over tag line, but weighty nonetheless. The brand has its roots in comfort. Regardless of what you think they look like, you have to admit the utility of a shoe that you can stand in for hours, especially for those with careers which require them to be on their feet all day. Figuratively, however, there is this notion that they associated with just being you. Again, Crocs are not on the hype list. You can choose to wear Crocs because you are someone who makes your own decisions and don’t care what other people think of them. They are also customizable which allows wearers to tell their own story right on their shoes. In my mind, to wear Crocs is to be self-assured, independent, and comfortable with yourself.
Yes, you can easily buy the shoe. Yes, they are cool in some people’s eyes. And yes they are comfortable. But more importantly, we are in a time where people are craving comfort in multiple aspects of their lives. We have a drive for the physical sense, but if you pay attention, you will hear more people craving the chance to be comfortable with who they are in the world. I find it unsurprising that a brand that prioritizes comfort in all its meanings is doing so well at a time such as this.
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