Opening Ceremony's Teva sandals will make you feel like a gladiator

Opening Ceremony's stores may have suffered the cruel fate dealt by a retail state that was already grim before COVID-19, but the brand itself continues to roll on.

For the fourth time, Opening Ceremony has partnered with Teva to give a city-born spin on the sandals popular with outdoorists. Under OC's stead, the Hurricane XLT2 has become the Hurricane XLT2 Gladiator, with suede straps that rise up the ankle and are fastened by a metal buckle. For the ladies, Opening Ceremony has also done up the Flatform Universal in a range of colors with suede straps as an upgrade.

A goth gladiator — Gladiator sandals tend skew bohemian, but under Opening Ceremony's direction they take on the language of technical goth that's been propagated by Rick Owens and Alyx. The silver-toned buckle aligns itself further with the latter brand, while suede straps give the sandals a more premium feel. And even though the target demo is far from crunchy, the XLT2 Gladiators will still hold up on the trails with a Durabrasion Rubber outsole. They can also be toned down, as the ankle strap is removable. For those who don't want to live at the intersection of dad and daddy, silver is available in addition to black.

And a more whimsical platform — The Flatform Universal stays more true to the original, which has two and a half inches of elevation and seven layers of EVA foam. These layers are where the color shows out, while the suede straps are done up in black and feature a white rubber Opening Ceremony badge on the heel. I'd say they're decidedly not for hiking, but who am I to discourage anyone's ambition.

Show Teva some love — Maybe it's just the Boulder, Colorado in me, but Teva seems to have been left out of the rise in popularity in sandals for men. They're an OG in outdoor-equipped sandals and keep things relatively affordable. Even with the increased stature that Opening Ceremony brings, the XLT2 Gladiators are only $125 and the Flatforms are an even $100. Not bad when either are sure to spice up your summer wardrobe.