Crocs will be 'stylish' part of Olympic uniform

Sunday Star Times

SHOES FROM Crocs, the much-maligned plastic clog manufacturer, will be worn by New Zealand Olympians as part of their official uniform a decision that has appalled prominent fashionistas.

Female athletes will wear the "sueded alice" model a suede-topped, plastic-soled shoe for the opening ceremony and all athletes will wear the "beach" model a version of the famous plastic slipper with holes in around the games village.

Olympic chef de mission Dave Currie confirmed the sueded alice Crocs would form part of the official uniform being unveiled at a function at an Auckland winery on April 30. He said the opening ceremony Crocs would be "very stylish" and "not the ones with the holes in them", and an athlete design panel had collaborated on the uniform choice, which he described as "sensational".

However, fashion designer Denise L'Estrange Corbet says she is horrified the Olympic athletes will wear Crocs.

"They are the ugliest piece of footwear ever invented. I know people who wear them say they are comfortable, but I'm sure there are more comfortable shoes that you can put on your feet to make your feet look attractive, not the ugliest, widest green feet on the planet.

"They are actually one thing I would like to put in a pile and blow up." She says a New Zealand-designed shoe would be more appropriate.

"All the other Olympic teams will look smart and wear trainers, and we'll be plodding along with these big, plastic, ugly, hideous, vile things. They are so ugly they should be banned. You might as well put a couple of bricks on your feet," she said.

Designer Jane Daniels wouldn't comment on the Olympic shoes but thought the original Crocs would join a host of other fashion nightmares from recent years.

"I'm sure people will look back on this era and wonder what we were thinking with long, baggy shorts, heavy footwear and Crocs."

John Robertson, the sales director for New Zealand women's shoe manufacturer Kumfs, says he doesn't have a particular problem with Crocs or the fact they are made overseas, because 98% of the country's shoes are not manufactured in New Zealand.

"But it would have been nice to have a shot at supplying [the female athletes]," he said.

Crocs have been attacked not only as a style disaster, but also for creating static electricity shocks, getting caught in escalators and being too dangerous for hospital staff to wear.

Originally invented in 2002 by three Americans as a boat shoe, they went worldwide the following year and finally reached New Zealand in 2005.