Sun 8th April
If Birkenstock au natural is the boy you’d like to bring home to your parents, the one who compliments them on their cooking and wears crisp shirts to go with his joyful and sunny complexion, then this, Rick Owens’ incarnation of the classic cork sandal, is something quite different. It’s furry for starters. Black, fine fur, the sort that would line the hem of some Gothic Lord’s ceremonial clobber, the sort that says ‘I might be wearing Birkenstocks, but if needs be, I’m prepared to wear them on my hands for use in self defence’. This is not to say that a touch of Owens is comparable to a touch of anger management, or that the anthropomorphised version of the classic Birkenstock is some kind of insufferable neek, just that Owens has here bestowed his customary moody and subversive charms onto a shoe that was anything but. It’s Freaky Friday for footwear. And like any fur, bodily or otherwise, this shoe requires careful maintenance. We suggest a quick comb over prior to wearing, feel free to incorporate your favourite product because, just like the glorious black mane of its maker, this shoe commands ritual attention.
The Rick Owens x Birkenstock is now available for pre-order
