MISSONI x HAVAIANAS: WHY?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Rex

It’s times like these I look to the Shoe Gods and ask why?

Missoni x Havaianas are in their second collaboration and I have managed to bite my tongue for some time. Perhaps I feel now is the time to vocalise because nobody bit their tongues when it came to the ‘Shackle’ shoe by Jeremy Scott for adidas Originals.

Or it might have been watching our Editor-in-Chief try his luck at the Air Yeezy 2 raffle, which can only be likened to the slaughtering of a lamb.

At first I wasn’t going to write about the latest Missoni x Havaianas collaboration because I didn’t think they deserved the time of day. I also wasn’t sure what category they belonged in, because calling them shoes just doesn’t feel right. Then yesterday in my afternoon troll I went to a certain online Womens magazine I carouse daily and found the collaboration in their news. News. And they sung praise.

I don’t know what’s worse. Do my beloved fashion mecca actually like the collaboration? Will I soon see their Editor-in-Chief ditch her Prada’s for ‘x havaianas’? Or have they suddenly lost all credibility to me?  Will I ever again find myself lost in their glossy pages/news feed or will I forever approach their work with cynicism based on the time they pretended to like rubber thongs with squiggles on them? I mean, Kim Kardashian ditched Louboutins for Jordans, so anything can happen. Right?

I am not adverse to collaborations; sometimes the most unlikely pair can produce the most wondrous of things. Too vague? I like anything with a ‘x’ in between two names. Still too vague? It’s because I love almost everything. Except rubber thongs and feeling like my favourite magazines have lost editorial integrity for sake of a brand name.

Last year in New York I picked up the last pair of the first Missoni x Converse collaboration in Soho. To me the fusion made perfect sense – I’d always loved the Missoni prints and textiles but found the price of the towels excessive and the cardigans better suited to my Nonna – so the sneakers were perfect. Not just because your toes are covered, but because you can enjoy the signature Missoni print from the exterior, rather than the waffled shape around someones toes.

So much nicer than an exposed big toe, ammiright?

I might have entered this topic on the defence due to my disdain for rubber thongs at the best of times. Sure, I got all caught up as a teen, demanding my Mum run into the nearest outlet and splurge on $30+ for the metallic effect but now I am a grown up (or at least pretend to be) so I put other things on my feet in the summertime, like sandals.

Recently I’ve noticed a lot of Sydneysiders shopping in winter ensembles and thongs (not of the fancy brand variation but nonetheless.) It takes all my strength not to ask them why they think their footwear is excluded from winter dressing, or whether their little toes would like a hug.

So if you think I’m completely fucking stupid, or if you’re the type of person/bro who runs rubber thongs 12 months of the year then jump on the Havaianas website to grab a pair because like any acclaimed collaboration there’s still heaps left and they just might sell out. Maybe.

I'm sorry they're this big but you deserve to know the truth.

[Edit: I just experienced the sheer joy of adding a 'thongs' tag thus knowing my PRIMO! counterparts would never support a cause so treacherous to the sneakers we know and love.]