Written by Lauren Cunningham
Our Scandi-style obsession is showing no signs of slowing down.
Clogs are making a comeback, but you probably don’t need me to tell you that. Love them or hate them, it’s hard to escape the fact that the open-backed shoes seem to be making an appearance at every corner we turn.
Leading from the runway, Gucci, Prada, Saint Laurent and many more luxury labels worked the wooden shoes into their spring/summer 2023 collections. And, unsurprisingly, the high street has followed suit, with everyone from Mango and River Island to Asos and Jigsaw getting in on the action. But where did the wooden shoes come from, and are they a fashion fad or a style staple that’s sure to see us through many a season?
Well, the latter is hard to answer. But I can certainly say the shoe style has been around the block (pun fully intended).
First popping up in a more modern-day fashion around the 70s, accompanied by micro mini skirts, flare-fit trousers and the sexy shag haircut, clogs could be counted on as the casual go-to shoe. Fast forward 20 years, and they made a miraculous reemergence in the 90s – flatform shoes were the height of fashion, after all. But the simplistic shoe may serve a more thought-provoking purpose, according to Eelko Moorer, course leader for MA Footwear at London College of Fashion, UAL.
“They are a way of dressing down and can be seen as a statement against being over-stylised or sexy, as in, not showing the body and being a kind of anti-shape,” he shared, making us question the re-emergence of clogs alongside 70s micro mini skirts, 90s babydoll tops and the crafty cut-outs and sexy silhouettes of last summer’s style.
Perhaps we are beginning to tire of hyper-sex-focused styling, seeking out larger, layering pieces instead. Looking to the luxury labels yet again, other key trends of the season – alongside clogs – are oversized blazers, sharply tailored two-pieces and statement skirts that play with proportions, so it seems entirely plausible. Or could we just be reaching towards more rural roots?
First found in the Netherlands around 1230, clogs have cemented themselves within Scandi style for many a century. Consisting of a leather upper nailed into a wooden sole – or completely crafted from wood if looking at the original Dutch design – their simplistic structure is what sets them apart from any other shoe.
“From the 14th century onwards, clogs have been in and out of fashion among the middle classes,” Moorer shared. “My guess is because they are iconic and because they provide a set of references to locality, ruralness, ‘realness’, connectedness with nature, and in doing so, to alternative and countercultures, authenticity, heritage and the like.”
And the rustic shoe style certainly delivers on all the above points, while also further fuelling our obsession with Scandi style. From finding happiness with hygge to the continued growth of Copenhagen Fashion Week, the cosy comfort of the region is showing no signs of slowing down. So I’m putting our doting adoration of the shoe design down to an amalgamation of all of these factors, while marking them a failsafe fashion find.
Just remember, if you do want to clamber on the clogs trend, look for leather – or faux leather for any vegan fashion fans – and wood styles over the more modern plastic picks to truly step into the OG Scandi style.
Images: Getty
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