The Pro-Crocs Movement Has Birthed Yet Another Extreme Shoe

The Croc heel became a bit of a phenomenon this summer. The shoe no longer only comes in its standard duckbill-capped shape, but now boasts heels of all shapes and sizes. A few weeks ago, the Internet swirled with confusion when Crocs heels titled “Cyprus V” were unearthed on Amazon.com: a modest orthopedic sandal with a goosebump-dotted sole. (They are still available from $45 to $251 and have an endless stream of rave reviews). That’s not all: There’s also the colorful “Huarache Wedge.”

The Croc-heel situation gets more elevated too. For Fall 2018, Demna Gvasalia sent Crocs down the Balenciaga runway with hulking platforms, sometimes with dorky-souvenir or hippie-dippy rainbow pins. More on the haute Crocs front: For Spring 2018, Balenciaga gave harmless bubblegum pink Crocs pointy heels that reminded me of the disturbing “death by stiletto” scene from Single White Female.

Now, the Croc heel has gotten its most freakish makeover yet, thanks to the Montreal-based artist Gab Bois. The 21-year-old specializes in very Instagrammable art that is both uncomfortable and fascinating—two words that also describe the term “Croc heel”—such as using tiny nails as the bristles on a toothbrush, or a white bra on top of a plate of two raw chicken breasts. This past July, she created a hot pink Croc heel that kept its hubbed head and signature strap but had a sinister Lucite heel, transforming it into a teetering and sassy going-out mule. She wrote in her caption that the piece was “@balenciaga inspired.”

The design included a “Croc from the dollar store” and a second-hand “gorgeous red feather stripper heel,” plus a bit of Photoshop (they aren’t wearable; they are visual art). It took the young artist about 1–2 hours, a process that would have taken much longer if they were indeed wearable. For her, the “ugly shoe” has been fresh on her mind. “I thought bringing a sexy aspect to it would create a powerful image,” she writes. Bois does have a point—the jarring combination does make for a compelling photo: I found the image on Instagram, which then brought me back to the artist’s handle where the image is one of the most liked on the feed. “Obviously, I made this piece as a joke and have no intent of capitalizing on it,” she says. And while she has no intention to produce and make some money off of the piece, other labels have: Balenciaga’s outrageous rubber stilettos have been available in stores since this spring.

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