The trend ugly chic is making a comeback this summer. We walk around in Birkenstocks, we walk around in clogs and we like to wear our Crocs with shapeless clothes, why not? What if ugly was attractive? That’s what Miuccia Prada said in 1996, when she started the trend.
” THE ugly shoes are everywhere and have become cool! “says Juliette L’Écuyer, journalist at the magazine She in Paris. “This enthusiasm is due to several things. First, brands like Birkenstock, Crocs or Dr. Scholl’s join forces with luxury houses like Dior and Balenciaga and this creates a buzz, because luxury appropriates shoe models that have long been considered ugly! “, she says.
There is a real euphoria around these collaborations and one can even wonder if there is not a hunt for the good move on the part of the luxury houses.
The Dior x Birkenstock collection is a real success, we tear up the sandals reinterpreted by Dior, because luxury is considered as beautiful, artisanal, linked to great know-how.
Juliette L’Écuyer, journalist at the magazine She in Paris
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PHOTO FROM BALENCIAGA WEBSITE
Balenciaga x Crocs Collection
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PHOTO FROM DIOR WEBSITE
Dior x Birkenstock men’s collection
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PHOTO FROM DIOR WEBSITE
The Dior x Birkenstock men’s collection
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PHOTO FROM THE BALENCIAGA WEBSITE
Pink boot, Balenciaga, in collaboration with Crocs
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For Madeleine Goubau, lecturer at the ESG UQAM Fashion School, comfort has become a priority. “These shoes are all ultra-comfortable, even orthopedic. We do not compromise on comfort, whether for clothing or footwear. Besides, you don’t see anyone wearing high heels anymore,” she says. Not to mention the effect of influencers. “What influencers like Hailey Bieber, for example, wear, young people are going to want the same thing, whether it’s beautiful or ugly. »
Generation Z is ultra-connected, and seizing the trend ugly chic, because it’s a generation that has a very disruptive state of mind, that needs originality and individuality. They want to break the classic dress codes imposed by society.
Juliette L’Écuyer, journalist at the magazine She in Paris
PHOTO FROM BELLA HADID’S INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
The model Bella Hadid, 26, does not hesitate to multiply her looks, sometimes very relaxed.
Juliette L’Écuyer, who specifies that at 29, she is between Z and young millennials, believes that this generation wants to stand out, rethink styles and have a different way of seeing clothes. “There is a rebellious side to the imposed rules of fashion. They have great freedom, mix prints, wear misshapen clothes. There are even clothes that have been diverted from their original function, pants that you put on top, brands offer incredible things, so much so that you sometimes wonder if it’s a piece of clothing! “, says this Parisian by adoption, who comes from Metz, in the east of France.
Is the chic Parisian style that the whole world is inspired by losing its luster? “Yes, because the new generation is turning everything upside down and does not identify with the style of the Parisienne. There is a real turn. We no longer want the chic and classic style of the Parisienne, we want more originality. We want to have a unique style and stand out,” says Juliette L’Écuyer.
The beautiful and the ugly
Who determines what is beautiful and what is ugly? What is in good taste or bad taste? This question has been addressed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, who considers that good taste is the expression of the dominant class, the bourgeoisie who believe they have a monopoly on good taste.
From a fashion point of view, there are no more arbiters of beautiful and ugly. Before, there were the designers of the big brands, certain celebrities and the editors of fashion magazines, but today this is no longer the case. There is no longer a monopoly of the dictatorship of beauty.
Madeleine Goubau, lecturer at the ESG UQAM School of Fashion
“The big fashion houses, by presenting their parades, once had this power to determine the beautiful, but today, these same luxury houses are questioning beauty and ugliness, and seizing the phenomenon ugly chic to go against the tide”, thinks Juliette L’Écuyer.
Even if there is greater freedom, does the ugly remain ephemeral? “It’s very difficult to sustain the ugly, especially when a brand creates a buzz with a collection of Crocs, for example, it never lasts very long. But at the same time, we see that the success of Birkenstock lasts and that we have adopted the Hunter rain boots, worn by Kate Moss [en 2005] “, concludes Madeleine Goubau.