Can Crocs Really Become a Sneaker Brand?
Can Crocs, a footwear brand known almost exclusively for its comfortable plastic clogs, make a name for itself in the world of sneakers? Creative director Salehe Bembury certainly thinks so.
On November 26, Bembury uploaded a first look at what appeared to be a Crocs sneaker. The photo showed the underside of a wavy-looking sneaker that bore the same molded foam sole at Bembury’s Pollex Clog, a popular slip-on shoe that the designer has been releasing with Crocs since 2021.
As crazy as it looks, Crocs sneaker inspired by Bembury’s wildly popular clogs does make sense.
When Crocs announced Bembury’s creative director role in early 2023, it stated that the designer would create shoes based off of the Pollex Clog while also creating “new silhouettes.”
Bembury’s Instagram post on November 26 is the first real glimpse of an entirely new Crocs silhouette created under his direction.
Though the sneaker hasn’t been revealed in full, what we’ve been drip-fed so far has all the makings of a great sneaker: a comfortable-looking sole, aesthetically pleasing colors, and a deluge of materials.
The bigger picture here, though, is whether Crocs can really become a bonafide sneaker brand?
Of course, Bembury has a history with sneakers. Prior to his roles at Crocs, the New York-based creative designed footwear at YEEZY and Cole Haan.
Bembury's most valuable footwear pedigree, perhaps, came at Versace where he gained international recognition for his designs. His most famous sneaker, the Trigreca, still remains a staple at the Donatella Versace-helmed house.
Bembury’s collaborative work has to be mentioned, too.
Prior to his gig with Crocs, the designer garnered deserved attention for his releases alongside the likes of New Balance, Moncler, and Vans, with whom he turned signature silhouettes into fresh and contemporary adaptations.
All this, above all else, is proof that Bembury knows how to make sneakers that aren't just marketable, but distinctive and interesting too.
Clearly, his sneaker credentials aren’t in doubt. What is in question, though, is whether he’s capable of making Crocs, a brand renowned for creating functional slip-on shoes, into a successful sneaker label, too.
Truth is, if anyone has the experience it takes to transform a brand, it’s Bembury. Look at his take on New Balance’s 2002R, for instance, a sneaker that relied solely on mainline releases before his takes helped elevate the shoe's popularity tenfold.
Or his first Moncler collab in 2021, a sneaker that put the Italian label’s footwear on the map when he transformed the Trailgrip into a fully-protective GORE-TEX shoe.
Bembury's talent is less about him designing footwear that's immediately sellable (a.k.a. hype), but more about how easy he makes creating truly distinctive shoes look.
Bembury isn't trying to turn Crocs into a sneaker brand, instead he's curating a world where Crocs sneakers can sit alongside Crocs clogs and be taken seriously.
If he approaches it with the same guise he's maintained throughout his career thus far (i.e. a sort of the same ingredients, but different recipe approach), he could well be onto something.
And who knows, by this time next year, we could all be customizing our sneakers with interchangeable Jibbitz.
