The sun is out, and with it, our feet too. This year, among sock slides and Crocs, the new additions to the once-ugly shoe trend that have become essential are floral tulle mules.
Popular in one-euro stores or even in bazaars and markets, they are now found on the feet of New York influencers. Under the hashtag #chineseslippers on TikTok, they have sparked real enthusiasm with more than 20 million posts on the pair of slippers.
An interest that was quickly noticed in major brands, who jumped at the opportunity to make their version of the knitted slipper for less than 5 euros, but this time… for 50 euros.
So how did we get here? Finding Birkenstocks pretty, wearing Crocs as a luxury accessory, and our grandmothers’ floral tulle mules to be at the forefront of the trend? 20 Minutes called on Cécile Poignant, a specialist in contemporary lifestyles and the evolution of socio-cultural trends, to decipher this tendency towards the ugly.
Nerdy is accessible
“You know, ugly has a touching side,” explains the specialist to 20 Minutes. “It’s like a way of pushing the limits and asking yourself what is or isn’t old-fashioned,” explains Cécile Poignant, taking the example of Crocs, whose sales have exploded by 200% since 2019. “Wearing ugly shoes, it’s a bit of playing with social conventions and making fun of bourgeois conformism. This breaks the norms, because in the end, everyone wears them. » Formerly mainly worn by cooks and hospital staff, these plastic shoes have won over fashion fans and have been revisited in a luxury version with a collaboration with Balenciaga.
This success story is repeated with other previously mocked shoes, like the Birkenstocks which made their IPO at the end of 2023. “In reality, “ugly” is rather nice, accessible, not too sophisticated, so it’s not scary », adds the trends specialist. With tulle mules for less than 5 euros and their Y2K look popular among gen z, the easy-to-follow trend is spreading like wildfire!
Comfort above all
“These are also products that are successful because they are comfortable,” concludes the futurist. Just like jogging, initially perceived as ugly, which has become a unanimous favorite in wardrobes since confinement, people are looking for comfort on their feet and are adopting Crocs, Birks, sock slides and finally knit mules. By constantly redefining the boundaries of beautiful and ugly, consumers are finally thumbing their noses at the criteria of chic.