The Fashionification of 'Ugly' Sandals

Outdoor footwear brands like Keen and Chaco are fashion’s latest fixation.

It’s not often that a successful product origin story starts with a remark of disgust, but Keen has beaten the odds.

“[My dad, founder Rory Fuerst] gathered a few of us, put the shoe on the table and asked us what we thought,” says Rory Fuerst Jr., now the brand’s director of innovation, of its now-signature Newport sandal. “I told him it was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen and that no one would buy it.” 

And yet, the Newport has endured for decades (it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary this year), as have a number of other “ugly” sandals, celebrated less for their trendiness than for their practicality.

“They’re shoes for people who are outsiders, but also, there’s a self-awareness to it,” says Jian DeLeon, the men’s fashion and editorial director at Nordstrom who also co-founded the Instagram account @muleboyz. “The people who wear them acknowledge that there’s a certain comfort and appeal to them.”

These brands never set out to be trendy. That first pair of Keen Newports was made for wearing on rolling sail boats. There’s also Chaco, which was first founded in 1989 by a river-rafting guide looking for more practical footwear. Largely, these shoes and others like them have remained the same since they were first created, thanks, in part, to the fact that they eschew any trend cycle: They put their users first, focusing on fit and durability rather than what’s “in” for a season. And for those active adventurers seeking solution-oriented footwear, they filled a crucial gap in the market.

Katie Huber, marketing manager at Chaco, has watched the brand’s popularity grow slowly as hikers, rafters and outdoor adventurers passed on knowledge of the shoe.

“The whitewater rafting community caught wind of Chaco in the ’90s, and instantly became fans,” she says. “Over time, the popularity grew via word of mouth through outdoor sports communities, outdoor gear and apparel stores.”

Fuerst echoes this feeling about the Newports. “I had a group of friends in Tahoe doing crazy stuff, including jumping off cliffs into the lake,” Fuerst says. One of them was frustrated, as he kept losing his sneakers when he leapt from the rocks into the water. “He tried the Newport sandals and was hooked. They didn’t blow out when you hit the water. They were also great for climbing around on wet rocks along the shore of the lake, and all the other things you do in places like Tahoe.”

Despite their humble beginnings and strong roots within the outdoor community, these “ugly” sandals have become a fixation of the fashion world. Birkenstock has collaborated with iconic luxury brands like Valentino and Manolo Blahnik, Crocs with Balenciaga and Christopher Kane. Sporty sneakers from the likes of Solomon and Asics have become fashion week street-style staples, even appearing on the runway at Sandy Liang and Cecilie Bahnsen, respectively. Now, however reluctantly, Keen and Chaco are entering the chat.

Fuerst notes that Keen’s popularity abroad, specifically in Japan and Europe, has exploded in recent years. The brand has also been spotted on Hyke’s runways and in Stussy’s catalogues; and it’s sold at influential sneaker stores like End and Atmos. 

Even when it’s not through official partnerships, these brands have had an impact on their more fashion-y counterparts: Luxury labels like Gucci and Prada have created similar silhouettes over the years, which fans have been quick to point out. (Keen even countered Gucci’s release with a pointed set of ads in 2019.)

“It’s an evolution and a progression of sneakers becoming the norm, as opposed to the exception to the rule,” DeLeon says. “People are like, ‘What else is comfortable? How do I further experiment in that world of casual performance footwear?’ They’re less afraid to take risks and just wear something for the sake of it being comfortable.” 

Amid the casualisation of everyday wardrobes, these sandals can be roped into “gorpcore,” an aesthetic in which functional outdoor-wear is adapted beyond its everyday use, often as a signifier of the lifestyle and values (namely of being an eco-minded, organic-eating, National Park-visiting, outdoor-adventuring type). But the mainstreaming of the style hasn’t exactly been an aspiration for those that created it.

“I’m definitely into functionality moving into the fashion space, but I’m also extremely skeptical,” says Fuerst. “In many respects, the functionality of our shoes is anti-fashion and timeless: Because it serves a specific purpose, it transcends trends that are designed to get people to buy more stuff. Steve Jobs understood that. He used to wear Keen Newport sandals with his black turtleneck and jeans. He didn’t do it for fashion — like his design ethos for Apple, it was about function and simplicity.”

Sometimes brands can’t avoid being swept up into the trend cycle — and it requires finding ways to adapt to the opportunity while maintaining authenticity.

“It’s being able to balance the DNA of what’s kept them relevant all these years, through the ebb and flow of trends,” says DeLeon, “owning it and being able to capitalize on it in a smart way.”

For these brands, that has come mostly in the form of outside influence, collaborating with brands and retailers on producst that stay true to their DNA and perhaps bring the outdoors to someone new, instead of it being a total departure from their lifestyle.

Chaco’s Earth Tones collection, which debuted last summer, introduced seven new color ways, in partnership with Outdoor Afro, with a portion of each sale going to support its programming, which connects Black Americans with outdoor activities like hiking, fishing and camping. The brand also released collaborations with Stadium Goods and Outsiders.

Even as they navigate the move from niche outdoor product to a shoe with luxury imitators, internally the brands have maintained an ethos rooted in environmentalism and waste reduction, building shoes that will last instead of something designed simply to weather the short trend cycle. 

“[Customers] keep their Keen shoes for 10, 15 years, and we’re good with that,” says Fuerst. “It’s better for them and better for the planet.” 

Chaco also has a longstanding repair program, allowing customers to send worn shoes into their Rockford, MI factory to be fixed and returned.

With the pandemic continuing to drive interest in the outdoors, “people are looking for utility and functionality to be prepared for anything in an increasingly uncertain world,” according to Fuerst. But once the trend cycle moves on, Keen and Chaco can rely on their loyalists to proselytize their products.

“These particular shoes are not for the moment,” says DeLeon. “The foundation that they’re built on is a functional product, and that has timelessness to it.”

Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Source: Fashionista.com