From the moment Balenciaga first sent a platform update of the foam clog down its runway, the Croc has been on a remarkable redemption arc. From fashion pariah to every one's favorite post-ironic shoe, the brand has gone on to collaborate with designers like Vivienne Tam and Christopher Kane, and streetwear brands like Alife, Chinatown Market, Beams, and Pizzaslime.
It seems like nowadays everyone is a fan, from Post Malone to brand ambassador Zooey Deschanel — and now performer Mykki Blanco is getting in on the action.
A rapper, poet, and activist who in the past year alone has worked with the likes of Kanye West and Madonna, Blanco made the foray into fashion earlier this year with his own brand, Generation Jeans, that featured an array of oversized garments. This week, Blanco turned his outsider eye to the iconic foam Croc.
Unveiled on Instagram, the customized pair of fleece-lined clogs is coated in heavy globs of hot glue, splashes of gold spray paint, and embedded with angel wings, tiny chains, and sparkling crystals. Looking like a steampunk interpretation of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the mutant pair of Crocs blends DIY with couture sensibilities, transforming the factory-molded silhouette into a bubbling hardware-flecked coral reef.
The remixed Crocs feel perfectly in line with Blanco's meticulously messy visual aesthetic — and as one of Brooklyn's original arbiters of cool, a good indicator that every dead-eyed freelancer with ankle-length slacks and a Telfar bag will likely be rocking their own foam clogs come spring.
Blanco also announced earlier this year that he was working on a new album titled, Stay Close to God, Stay Close to Music, that is reportedly set to feature ANOHNI, Kelsey Lu, MNEK, Diana Gordon, Jamila Woods, Ah Mer Ah Su, with co-production from FaltyDL.
Photo via Instagram