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First it was the Birkenstock craze that spread like Cersei’s wildfire, first through the fashion scene, then all high street outlets that offered foot coverings (and then some).
Next, every summer hiker’s sensible all-terrain sandal of choice, the Teva, starred in no less than three shows at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia 2016, before appearing in New York on Dion Lee’s Spring/Summer 2017 runway, cementing its place in the annals of ugly-chic style history.
Now the final bastion in orthopaedic fashion footwear, Dr Scholl’s, which are generally retailed in pharmacies (not surprising given the brand’s owned by pharmaceutical company Bayer), has infiltrated popular culture. The beechwood-soled slide originally designed comfort and foot health (two virtues rarely prioritised let alone valued for designer foot candy) is the latest normcore slip-on to be so ironic it garners cult fashion status.
Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, who was a pink Scholl’s and designer gown kind of woman
Credit: Courtesy Sex and The City
How exactly has this seismic shift in all things street-smart happened?
The brand, which started in the mid 1900s with corn plasters and foot deodorant powders, has collaborated again with edgy mainstream US store Anthropologie on four styles of “fashion” sandals for the northern hemisphere’s spring, dropping April 25.
A classic Dr Scholl’s Shoes campaign image from the 1970s
If you’re in the market for a denim-strap wedged mule, wooden-soled buckle-up sandal or marble-fabric comfy flats that are both ergonomically sound and kooky cool, then this collab might just be for you. And you’ll be in good company. Rumour has it the generally style-savvy Cameron Diaz, Kirsten Dunst and high priestess of haute footwear, Sarah Jessica Parker, have long been ahead of the game as off-duty Dr Scholl’s owners.
The three styles in the Anthropologie x Dr Scholl’s collab for Spring 2017 come in colourways including white and denim
Patricia Field even dressed Carrie Bradshaw in a pair of pink classic slides by The Dr for an episode of Sex And The City, which makes them a special kind of randomly brilliant we’d never given enough thought to.
What’s next? Designer Crocs? Oh hang on, Christopher Kane already took care of that one for his Spring/Summer 2017 collection. Lord have mercy.
