Birkenstock moves from tree-huggers’ fave to high fashion

Throughout its almost-50 year history in North America, the Birkenstock has been derided as the earthy crunchy footwear for tree-huggers, mocked as the favourite of the socialist socks-and-mandals set, dismissed as the sole sister of “hairy-legged feminazis.”
But now the comfy molded cork-and-rubber bottomed German shoe is kicking off its hippie trippy image and finding its feet everywhere.
Take a walk along some of the trendiest strips in town and you’ll see the sandal on young and old, worn with cut-offs, boho maxis, sleek dresses and even bespoke business suits.
Among women, the most popular models are the classic one-strap Madrid and the toe-thong Gizeh, which both come in a blinding selection of colours as well as the classic tans and neutrals.
“Last week, Laurence Fishburne came in and bought two pairs of Medina, size 12,” says Toronto Foot Sensation! shoe store chain owner Gaston Pelletier, who has been selling Birkenstocks for more than a decade.
That means that Fishburne joins Leonardo DiCaprio, Usher, Liv Schreiber and many other male celebs Birkenstalked by the paparazzi for years. Not surprising considering men have always been able to get away with comfortable and casual footwear.
German-born supermodel Heidi Klum has long rocked her Birkenstocks and, 10 years ago, even designed a signature rhinestone-studded line for the company. Julianne Moore has also been a devotee, well before the current craze. Gwyneth Paltrow once told Vogue that “Birkenstocks with Gucci, that’s my idea of cool.”
But the big breakthrough came three years ago when Birkenstock USA, faced with declining sales and a moribund image, decided to rebrand and go from flower child footwear to eco-chic, capitalizing on its strictly green materials and manufacturing processes.
The campaign focused on the Gizeh and the Madrid, expanding their rainbow of colours. Via a San Francisco-based image-making company, it targeted so-called “tastemakers” and “influencers” in print, online and onscreen while “celebrity-seeding” the shoe. That means freebies for the famous.
All of a sudden, the sandals were everywhere in L.A. and Manhattan. Anne Hathaway, Ashley Olsen, Selma Blair, Naomi Watts and Kristen Bell were spotted off-their-red-carpet-killer-heels in their feet-sparing Gizehs. They tossed their Uggs and flip-flops and fell head over heels.
At about $110 a pair, they’re practically walking out shoe store doors.
“Last summer, I saw one of the chic-est women I know wearing a fluorescent yellow pair,” says Toronto marketing consultant Rachael Yeager, 34, who loves her bright orange Gizehs. “I knew I just had to have some.”
Barbara Kanner of Serum International, the Montreal-based distributor of Birkenstocks in Canada since the 1960s, maintains that the sudden surge in the popularity of the Gizeh is related to our love of the “toe thong” or, as it’s more commonly-called, the flip-flop.
“In Canada, look how many people are wearing toe thongs,” she says. “Regardless of brand, toe thongs have become very strong.”
According to Matt Hummel, spokesperson for Birkenstock USA, the shoes have always stayed true to their image. It’s fashion that has caught up to comfort.
“Women have done high heels, then flats were the big trend and now a big trend is casual chunky sandals and Birkenstock is the original in that category,” he said from San Francisco.
For Yeager, there are many practical reasons to wear her Birkenstocks, including comfort, quality and durability. Yeager believes that it’s better to spend a little more to get a shoe that can take a lot of mileage.
“Toronto is such a walkable city and there is only so far you can go in flip-flops,” she says, recalling an evening when her date had to go buy her a pair of shoes because her flip-flops flopped. “Birkenstocks won’t break on you.”
“The good thing is that parents are coming in with their kids and finally, teenagers like something that is healthy for them,” laughs Pelletier, adding “I don’t want to say that too loud when they’re around but yes, absolutely.”
But what about the man-repellant rep of Birkenstocks?
Nonsense, says Toronto independent sex worker Nikki Thomas: “Sometimes, clients will ask me specifically for open-toed sandals, so I wear my white Madrid Birkies. I find they go well with a cute white top and a short black skirt, especially when I’ve just had a nice pedicure and my toenails are painted in bright summery colours. My feet feel great and my clients love them.”
Still, Kanner insists, Birkenstocks are not meant to be a fashion shoe but a “wellness” shoe: “Fashion is transitory so we would rather be something that’s about providing comfort and support for your foot.”
Meanwhile, the women’s version of the clunky Arizona is now picking up the sales pace.
So far, it’s been seen a New York Times fashion spread, matched with a Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Balmain and . . . socks. Last month, the Paris edition of Vogue showed the Arizona in a more appropriate context, glamping — glamourous or luxury camping.
If Pelletier’s right, the Birken-sock Arizona look is going to be a big look this fall.
“We’ve been very surprised by the number of ladies buying the Arizona this year,” he says. “Our sales of Arizona have gone through the roof — and they’re very manly. We have been very surprised.”