The Devolution of the Downtown Garden Clog
Like so many other downtown cool-guy types, the Plasticana garden clog isn't even 30. Still, it took a couple decades to transcend its position as a humble utility slip-on into a mule inextricable from New York's hipper neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, Plasticana's Surfana Water Shoe is a born winner.
Humble French footwear company Plasticana is so modest that it doesn't even operate an Instagram page (though its Korean and Philippine licensees do maintain their own). It prefers that its appreciably simple shoes speak for themselves.
And they have plenty to say, despite very little going on above the surface. They're ubiquitous enough to have garnered quite literally millions of views on TikTok and be seen everywhere that people want to be seen.
Like most involuntary elements of hype, the beauty of Plasticana's shoes lies in their sincere simplicity.
Made in Morocco or France of a recyclable and compostable plastic/hemp blend, Plasticana shoes get right to the point. The snubly rounded toebox, sleek profile, flat sole, and organically earthy hues that you see are exactly what you get, nothing else under the hood and no laces or straps to fuss with. Simple. Perfect. Oh, and they're all priced under $70.
Footwear doesn't get much less complicated. Until the Surfana came around.
The even-flatter Surfana is as purpose-built as its Plasticana sibling, even though it looks like a devolution of the well-loved clog.
It's obviously a water shoe but one can't shake the sensation that the Surfana was created to capitalize on the overwhelming yen for all things flat, which feels odd for trend-agnostic Plasticana. Then again, water shoes are also having a moment so more likely that it's as happy an accident as the ongoing buzz around Plasticana.
At least one thing hasn't changed: The Plasticana Surfana Water Shoe is still available only $65.
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