First it was the Birkenstock. Re-imagined by Céline’s Phoebe Philo for the brand’s spring 2013 runway show, the clunky sandal emerged with a furry insole and kicked off a collective fever for ugly-chic footwear. Then came Gucci’s similarly fur-lined slippers, Christopher Kane and Balenciaga’s take on crocs and finally, chunky “dad sneakers”—the latest in our obsession with unattractive shoes. Until flip-flops, that is.

So many pairs were spotted on the feet of Danish street-style stars during Copenhagen Fashion Week, you’d think they all got the same memo. These pairs weren’t some chic, ultra-luxe variations; they looked like that pair of Havaianas you fished out of a woven basked in a dimly lit Abercrombie sometime in the mid-2000s. Styled with swishy satin skirts and cat-eye sunglasses, the simple, foam-soled shoes seemed to signal that the wearer doesn’t take fashion too seriously. After all, it doesn’t get more high-low than a Dior Saddle bag paired with shoes you’d wear for a trip to the sauna.
 

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Street style at Copenhagen Fashion Week. Image by: Imaxtree

Although the simple sandals made an appearance on the spring runways of Michael Kors and Isabel Marant, this feels like a trend born on the street. Thanks to our increasingly short fashion attention spans, street-style stars and Instagram influencers have to constantly find new ways to surprise us with their novel style choices. Plus, our collective wardrobes are becoming more casual, and everyone is gravitating towards simple, functional pieces. Buzzy start-up brand Allbirds is also on board. Earlier this month the innovative San Fransisco-based company announced a new sustainable foam technology made using sugarcane. 

Though certainly not as divisive as high fashion crocs, flip flops are bound to have their detractors. But the good news is that its time in the spotlight will be short—fall is just around the corner. 

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