Jon Kortajarena revives the ugliest trend view during confinement

Jon Kortajarena has accustomed us to looks that have been meticulously studied, but today was the day in which he had to apologize to his followers for his 'incorrect' way of dressing. It has happened in his last Instagram post, where he himself retracts. "You can criticize my styling all you want. I deserve it…”, he wrote sarcastically. In the image we see him with jeans and an 'oversize' sweater, so far everything is in order. Then, the view goes directly to some rubber flip-flops that, neither short nor lazy, has been put on with red socks. "Ande yo caliente...", some will say. And it is that the Bilbao model is enjoying a few days at the beach somewhere in the Atlantic, so he has used a quick and effective combination to solve the cool nights in those parts. The look in question has been approved by his legion of followers, including the stylist Víctor Blanco. «Lookazo! Very foreign fashion”, he commented correctly, and if one of those responsible for making national stars like Nieves Álvarez say so on the red carpet, he must be given credit.

The summer flip flop, the winter woolen sock... Never before has the union of two antagonistic garments caused so much talk in the world of fashion. This curious combination has always given rise to controversy, creating a wave of conflicting opinions that has been revived again as a result of confinement.

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— Amit Jain Mon Jul 19 05:24:47 +0000 2010

As always, the irreverent Nordics were the first to raise the alarm: in the quarantine, socks at home were no longer worn with slippers, they had to be worn with flip-flops in the purest German style in Mallorca. Also, they weren't worth any flip flops, they must have been from high-end brands and the uglier, the better. And it is that the current 'ugly shoes' (ugly shoes) also shakes summer footwear, a trend to which all self-respecting 'influencer' has had to pay by force majeure. From Suzanne Koller – co-founder of 'Self Service' magazine and fashion director of 'M', the magazine of 'Le Monde' newspaper – who launched her own Instagram flip flop challenge, #staychicathomechallenge, to Danish ladies Pernille Teisbaek and Emily Sindlev. All of them have inquired in their days of confinement into the strange comfort that the combo of super-luxury sandals with a very fat sock provided them.

There are many who, like Koller, have made the legendary Birkenstock their fetish footwear. "Do not lose your humor under any circumstances!" wrote the editor, proudly showing her look from the calf down. Others, those addicted to the latest trends, have preferred to spend on the sandals that Chanel has launched for this season. Far from following the refined line of the French house, they are rough, padded and fastened with two velcros with which long ago we would have cried out to heaven. Alexa Chung, one of the pioneers in carrying this trend as a flag, already dared in 2018 with some 'deluxe' crab shoes from her own firm and a wool sock. "I don't know if you are ready for this," he predicted. Those worn by Jon Kortajarena are also less 'streetwear' and more beachwear, although from a firm that aims high. On its uppers we can decipher the logo with white letters of Dsquared2, a simple shoe a priori, but which amounts to 145 euros on multi-brand platforms such as Farfetch just for engraving its signature in a considerable size.

Before Kortajarena, many other men have also broken without remorse one of the most fundamental rules of style. Well-known faces such as Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, or Justin Bieber -the latter also a subscriber to hotel slippers for going out- are just some of the examples.

This much-questioned styling combo isn't a recent invention, however. In fact, it has been years, since 2007 that we can remember, trying to gain a foothold without much success in the fleeting sector of trends. This combination has been seen countless times on the catwalk, with Prada being one of the firms that has done the most for the cause. In 2011, Miuccia Prada wanted us to wear black high-heeled shoes with white socks, in 2015, striped tights with clogs and sandals and, in 2018, very high socks as if we were runners. Now it is Miu Miu who continues this random legacy in a pre-fall 2020 collection inspired by the 70s, proposing sandals with impossible platforms with patterned socks. Everything very easy.

The privacy of our homes and the absence of outside eyes during the quarantine has given rise to strange combinations that have ended up making a deep impression, and we refer to our Instagram feed. Perhaps, next autumn-winter we will be a little less embarrassed to reach for the sandal and the sock when the cold returns. Perhaps this trend has finally caught on. Because if something is clear, it is that many things will change after the crisis, and the way of dressing will be one of them.