This colorful Brazilian flip flop, made of ultra-resistant rubber – and ONLY of this material – was born in 1962. Inspired by traditional Japanese zoris spotted in Hawaii by their creator, who was then in the construction business, it was originally worn by the poor workers of Brazil that saw in it a light, solid, and accessible shoe. From this first use would come others, and soon laborers wouldn’t be the only ones to have them. A bit afterwards they became a house shoe for wealthy Brazilians, then they were spread around the world as fast as tourists could bring them back from South America. This is where sales for this new type of sandal really took off. At present, 205 million pairs of Havaianas are sold each year in 85 countries, from which more than 4 billion copies have come out since their original production.
Havaianas’ monumental success definitely comes from the ease it allows your foot, the strong resistance of its natural rubber, as well as its Brazilian identity that was quick to charm buyers seeking to acquire a simple, iconic piece that’s all the same qualitative and exotic by means of this brand. But its continual collaborative strategy remains lesser known. Each of its partners in the fashion world place it at the center of a seasonal commercial arena, allowing it to maintain its image as a must-have, without letting it get spread thin and carried away as a blank slate for exuberant stylists.
Don’t be fooled by the Havaianas’ colossal sales figures though; they’re not exactly what you’d call a mass market product, with little market or aesthetic value. It just means that sometimes fashion can find itself a bit, find a breath of fresh air, in this type of seemingly insignificant shoe, or garment, or accessory that compels or preconceived stylistic visions to do a well-deserved about-face.
Leave a Reply