🚫👠Birkenstocks: Comfort is clomping down the runway

[Birkenstocks are contrarians]( like overalls or windbreakers. The flat, fat-bottomed sandals, with their thick straps, big buckles, and gender neutrality have a foot firmly planted in the [“ugly” fashion]( category. They don’t flatter the foot or raise the derriere. Instead, they’re crafted for comfort. The wearers of these classic German sandals wander with confidence and ease. And they are legion. Once beloved by hippies (and hippies alone), the sandals have lately spawned imitations by the likes of Chanel and sell at high-fashion retailers like Barneys. Although most Birks (as they’re affectionately known) go for about $100 a pop ([$145 with glitter]( some fashionistas will pay much more to show they know that [ugly is beautiful](. 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Brought to you by [Quartz Obsession] Birkenstocks May 30, 2018 Heart and sole --------------------------------------------------------------- [Birkenstocks are contrarians]( like overalls or windbreakers. The flat, fat-bottomed sandals, with their thick straps, big buckles, and gender neutrality have a foot firmly planted in the [“ugly” fashion]( category. They don’t flatter the foot or raise the derriere. Instead, they’re crafted for comfort. The wearers of these classic German sandals wander with confidence and ease. And they are legion. Once beloved by hippies (and hippies alone), the sandals have lately spawned imitations by the likes of Chanel and sell at high-fashion retailers like Barneys. Although most Birks (as they’re affectionately known) go for about $100 a pop ([$145 with glitter]( some fashionistas will pay much more to show they know that [ugly is beautiful](. 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Reuters/Ina Fassbender By the digits [10 million:]( Pairs of Birkenstocks sold in 2012 [25 million:]( Pairs sold in 2017 [€750 million ($800 million):]( Global revenue for Birkenstock in 2016, the most recent figures disclosed by the privately-held company, up three-fold from 2012 [112:]( Pages in the 1947 book Podiatric System Birkenstock, which the company claims was the most widely read podiatric textbook of its time [6:]( Layers in the sole of a Birkenstock sandal, including suede lining, plus two layers of jute, cork core, foam, and outsole [115:]( Birkenstock styles featured at the company’s first Paris Fashion Week show in 2017 [1,800:]( Styles produced by Birkenstock as of 2017 2: Pairs of Birkenstocks the writer of this email owns right now Quotable “It was only a matter of time before looking like a stork could no longer be rendered en vogue. But to be quite honest… I couldn’t have seen the low-heel’s violently odd and awkward cousin, the Birkenstock, slip through the fashion week cracks if Celine hit me over the head with one.” [— Leandre Medine Cohen, fashionista/blogger (famed for Man Repeller blog)]( Brought to you by JPMorgan Chase & Co. From good managers, to great leaders. --------------------------------------------------------------- All organizations benefit from strong leaders, but many struggle to create the kind of culture that helps managers thrive. JPMorgan Chase’s Head of Leadership Development shares the tools and program the company uses to help employees grow their skills.[Read how to spot and develop top management talent.]( Fun fact! The oldest known footwear on Earth is a pair of sandals discovered in the US state of Oregon; which are [at least 10,000 years old.]( Reuters/Ina Fassbender Timeline 1774: Johann Adam Birkenstock registers in the church archives as “vassal and shoemaker” in the village Langen-Bergheim. 1896: Konrad Birkenstock opens two stores in Frankfurt, selling shoes with [innovative contoured insoles](. 1914: Konrad Birkenstock works for the Frankfurt-Friedrichsheim hospital’s rehabilitation ward, making custom orthopedic inserts for wounded soldiers in World War I. 1963: Birkenstock makes its first sandal, the [Madrid]( which features a cork and latex footbed. 1966: Birkenstocks enter the US market with the help of a German immigrant named Margot Fraser, who sold them first to the [managers of health-food stores](. 1990: Fashion model Kate Moss is photographed [wearing Birks]( and smoking a cigarette in a spread for [The Face](. 1996: A labor dispute [threatens the hippie credibility]( of the shoemaker. 2012: Birkenstocks [break into high fashion]( when Céline presents its latest collection with models wearing [Arizonas]( lined with mink, which become known as “Furkenstocks.” 2014: Celebrities [wearing Birkenstocks]( pop up everywhere. 2016: Birkenstock drops Amazon as a seller, accusing it of [allowing fakes to flourish]( on the site. 2017: Birkenstock is named “[Brand of the Year]( at the Annual Footwear News Achievement Awards. “Just a short while ago, every major media outlet said [Birkenstock] was the ugliest thing they’ve ever seen,” said Birkenstock CEO David Kahan [after receiving the award](. “Talk about fake news.” 2018: Fendi creates logo-laden [Birkenstock-inspired slides]( that sell for $760; Birkenstock[collaborated with designer Rick Owens]( on a furry $400 version. 👇 (Birkenstock USA) Quotable “Bloomingdale’s came in with their fashion office—six 20-something girls flitting around, picking up Birkenstocks and going, ‘So cute! So cute!’ Six months ago, they would have said, ‘That’s the ugliest thing I could ever wear.’ ” [— David Kahan, CEO Birkenstock USA]( Reuters/Stefan Wermuth compare + contrast Trademark battles --------------------------------------------------------------- Birkenstock has more in common with [luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin]( than you might imagine. Both shoemakers claim distinctive soles worthy of a trademark—but in 2016, a European court [rejected the German sandal-maker’s arguments]( that a wavy pattern on the sole was a distinctive mark. This year, Louboutin’s claim to a shade of red known as Pantone 18 1663TP was found to not be distinctive in an advisory opinion by the European Court of Justice. 🐦 [Tweet this]( Giphy Pop quiz Which of these celebrities paints Birkenstocks for fun and gives them away as gifts? Mary-Kate and Ashley OlsenNaomi WattsJulianne MooreHeidi Klum Correct. The model and TV personality also turned her hobby into an official Birkenstock collaboration in 2002. Incorrect. But she has certainly worn them. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Watch this! YouTube’s resident Australian “Primitive Technology” guru John Plant crafts sandals by hand from loya cane. take me down this 🐰 hole! If you ever need a reminder that nothing is permanent: Here’s [a brief history of shower shoes](. Reuters/Ina Fassbender Poll Would you be caught dead or alive in Birks? [Click here to vote]( I much prefer to walk awkwardly.I’d sleep in footbeds if I could.If the occasion calls for an ugly sandal! The fine print In yesterday’s Obsession about [pineapples]( we asked what you think of Hawaiian pizza. Nearly half of you (48%) said, “It’s pork. It’s pineapple. It’s perfection.” Today’s email was written by [Ephrat Livni]( edited by [Jessanne Collins]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. sound off ✏️ [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Birkenstocks.&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🤔 [What have you been obsessed with this week?](mailto:obsession%2Bprompt@qz.com?cc=&subject=%0ATake%20us%20down%20a%20rabbit%20hole.&body=) 📬 [Forward this email to a friend](mailto:replace_with_friends_email@qz.com?cc=obsession%2Bforward@qz.com&subject=%F0%9F%9A%AB%F0%9F%91%A0Birkenstocks%3A%20Comfort%20is%20clomping%20down%20the%20runway&body=Thought%20you%27d%20enjoy.%20%0A%0ARead%20it%20here%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femail%2Fquartz-obsession%2F1292302%0ASign%20up%20for%20the%20newsletter%20at%20http%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fquartz-obsession) The correct answer to the quiz is Heidi Klum. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here]( for more information. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States [Share this email](