You can now buy Crocs with fanny packs on them

Do you remember Crocs? You know, the rubber shoes with the iconic holes on top and the moveable strap? They’ve experienced a roller coaster ride in recent years. First, after fading from focus for a while, Crocs hit the Paris runways in 2017 with a platform shoe that stunned Fashion Week audiences. A year later, Crocs announced it was closing its manufacturing plants. Still, company officials insisted that, despite the closures, the cult-classic shoes weren’t going anywhere.

Fast forward to 2019 and the resilient shoe continues to bounce back with new concepts. In their latest move, Crocs has teamed up with Beams (a Japanese fashion company) to develop their latest design — Crocs with fanny packs!

For the equivalent of $53, Crocs fans can pick up a pair of these practical beauties at the official Beams website in either purple or green, with the opposite color featured in the attached, eensy-weensy fanny pack.

Honestly, people aren’t sure how to react to the latest fashion risk presented by Crocs. Some wonder why an already questionable footwear choice has been made even stranger. Reporter Kim Bhasin, for example, warned his readers to look away from what he apparently thinks is a Crocs catastrophe. “AVERT YOUR EYES!” he writes.

The New York Post also did not hold back on its opinion of Crocs with pockets. Or maybe they did by just calling them ugly.

But every argument has at least two sides. Some people love the Crocs’ quirkiness and the convenient storage option. Twitter user The Timmy L, for one, posted a picture with the packs riding on the front of the shoe, showing its versatility in style. He had no issue giving a big thumbs up on the new design.

Like them or not, the fanny-pack Crocs are causing an uproar not only on social media, but also in the business world. Author Marc Bain of Quartz noted that bringing two absurd fashion statements together just might be a work of marketing genius for Crocs. By building off a foundation of collaboration with companies like BEAMS, Post Malone and Balenciaga, new designs like the Croc Pockets grab quick attention and become fast sellers.

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“These collaborations, which yield products like giant platform Crocs and Crocs with artificial turf on the insole and toe, don’t sell in huge numbers since they tend to be released in small quantities,” Bain wrote. “But they’ve been great marketing for the brand. They help Crocs to reach new audiences, and often get press coverage, raising the brand’s profile.”

Would you wear these Crocs with fanny packs?