Balenciaga made Crocs high heels, because who even cares anymore

Balenciaga first made Crocs high fashion in 2017, when the two last collaborated. Now, the luxury brand has made Crocs… high heels. Balenciaga’s Spring 2022 collection — titled “Clones” — brought the rubber clogs to new heights, debuting some unique Croc stilettos in green, gray, and black, as well as some more acceptable knee-high Croc boots.

Crocs are super hot right now — and Balenciaga knows it. Despite the rubber shoe brand selling its own versions of platform clogs and wedges, there’s never been a Croc design quite like these. The stiletto iteration could market to a new type of consumer, though — think Victoria Beckham, heel-aficionado, who said she “would rather die” than wear Crocs. Now, consumers can hit the clubs post-pandemic without ditching their comfy house shoes.

Is Balenciaga’s take ironic, or just ugly? — This very real collaboration comes courtesy of Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia, not an internet troll. “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,” Gvasalia told French Vogue in 2017, when the two brands first teamed up.

“I wore Crocs this summer to see how I felt about them and they are the world’s comfiest shoes! I just wanted to give them a fashionable touch: a platform. At the end of the day, fashion is all about having fun.”

In today’s world, fashion is also about having what everyone else can’t — perhaps explaining why Balenciaga and Crocs’ first collaborative clog reportedly sold out before even being available in stores, despite costing $850. We’re expecting a similar phenomenon to occur with the release of these high-heeled and rain boot Crocs, though a drop date has yet to be confirmed.

Continuing the campy theme of the shoes, the rest of Balenciaga’s collection included huge puffer jackets, playful tracksuits, a Simpson's hoodie, and the continuation of the “Gucciaga” hacking collab. All pieces were modeled by Eliza Douglas — but the face of the androgynous artist was CG-scanned onto various “deep-fake” models. Catfish, but make it high fashion.

Coup d’Croc — Balenciaga’s Crocs come on the heels (pun intended) of a peak year for the rubber clog brand. Collaborations with the likes of Bad Bunny, Rico Nasty, Post Malone, Justin Bieber, and Diplo have boosted Crocs’ share price to an all-time high, cementing the clog as the official shoe of 2021. And with more elegant silhouettes arriving via Balenciaga, it’s not long before we see Crocs everywhere — even on Fashion Week runways.