For the past two summers pool slides have been the biggest player in the sandal field, beating Birkenstocks by a price difference of about £30, while the simple addition of a sock (traditionally white), throws the style ever deeper into office conversation.
Initial sightings (if you will), began in 2012 when Matthew Josephs styled Shaun Samson’s SS13 show; the duo turned up both on the catwalk and backstage, adorning the stylist’s own feet.
Last summer they were officially toasted by the fashion press, with features, look books and individuals all sporting a variation of the look. And as summer 2014 takes hold, little has changed.
Of course there are those for whom the style is less ‘a look’, more a practice as regular as changing from jeans to cut offs, and in their latest editorial, adidas Originals pays tribute to the forerunners of a trend deemed “biggest fashion faux pas” in a 2013 study conducted by Debenhams.
“I played football at a fairly decent level up until 21 and socks and slides was part of the uniform for training,” says brand consultant Ollie Olanipekun. “Any look that's super casual will always win.”
Olanipekun is joined in the ‘We Know What You Did Last Summer’ campaign by blogger India Rose, photographer Jonathan Daniel Pryce, and creative director-cum-brand consultant and some time skater, Maria Falbo.
The second edition of #Socksnslides – last summer the brand asked fans ‘How Do You Wear Yours?’ – the campaign was shot by proud Mancuinan and analog photographer, Michael Mayren.
“adidas slides have donned the southern Italian coastlines for decades,” offers Falbo, “I enjoy wearing them as a tribute to that nonchalant classic summer style – especially donned with some gold accessories and slick swimwear.”
Pryce on the other hand, enjoys the juxtaposition of the sport element paired with smart clothing, while Rose owns five pairs: “One which I've covered with grey suede, one with black leather, one with frayed denim and the other two with the stripes.”
Like dip dyed hair before it, socks worn with slides is a trend encroaching on the masses (Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr will all tell you the same thing), but like the former it somehow retains its edge, making the wearer that bit different from the rest, in doing so forgoing for the most part cheap imitations.
—-
Buy The American Dream Issue of Clash
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone /Android
