A new version of crocs have made their appearance in the fashion industry: Balenciaga Crocs. Certainly an unexpected collaboration, these Crocs retail for $495 and that is without the pins, adding those can cost up to $850. Believe it or not, they were released on February 2, 2018 and sold out on February 1st on preorder. However, they have been restocked and you can now pre-order them on nordstrom.com. Personally crocs that cost more than $20 are not my forte but to each their own.

When sophomore Olivia Biedrzycki saw these crocs she said “Gross, they are too high. I can get regular crocs for $20.” However some students think they are a fashion statement. Sophomore Melina Kostopoulos says, “They are really nice if you are trying to be different and if you have the money why not.”

But how did a high end brand like Balenciaga decided to have a collaboration with Crocs? Demna Gvasalia, the designer for Balenciaga, says that “working with these kinds of materials is very Balenciaga”. Balenciaga and other high-end brands are always open to new and unique ideas for their customers. Despite the 10 cm high platform, the shoes actually claim to be quite comfortable. Other brands such as Hunter Rain Boots plan to collaborate with Target to release a line of cheap rain boots that would be affordable for more people. Brands collaborating with higher end designers is not as uncommon as it may seem.

Crocs previously collaborated with high end designer, Christopher Kane who sent his models down the runway with his exclusive Crocs collaboration. Nonetheless, with the growing popularity in the “ugly sneaker” trend, this is no surprise and people seem to be enjoying this unique design.