And y’all thought crocs were polarizing…
Meet the He She Brick slippers (or sandals, as the brand calls them) – a pair of footwear that takes direct inspiration from what’s beneath them… the footpath. Most urban settings have pavements lined with concrete bricks. These bricks come in a variety of shapes, they’re either squarish, hexagonal, dumbbell shaped, or they’re shaped like crooked rectangles.
Officially called the Unipaver, this shape can be found in almost every country with tiled pavements. It’s a unique ‘jagged rectangle’ shape that tessellates well – which is just designer-speak for ‘it interlocks without any negative spaces.’ Thailand-based PDM Brand decided to turn this shape into the ultimate slipper, creating something that either blends into the footpath, or slides perfectly into it. It’s hilarious, has some social commentary to it, but more importantly… it’s real, and will be available sometime in the near future.
Designer: PDM Brand
PDM (Product Design Matters) Brand says that these slippers are “a unisex sandal designed to unify you with the sidewalk. A cultural statement and a true original from PDM Brand.” They’re weird, kitschy, but somehow perfect. They emulate the feeling of walking barefoot on a pavement, which sort of ties into the kind of fashion statements the ultra-rich make, with their seemingly frugal lifestyles.
The slippers are to scale, have a grey concrete-inspired finish, and about as thick as the average Unipaver brick too. There’s no official word on what the slippers are made of, but my guess is (hopefully) EVA foam that at least feels somewhat comfortable. Either way, they’re a hilarious cultural statement, and I’m sure everyone seeing you wear them will chuckle or cringe… but they’ll definitely look twice.
Funnily enough, the slippers are ambidextrous. Which means there’s really no right or left shoe. They’re identical, which allow them to interlock perfectly while standing. Does that make walking difficult? Sure, but fashion’s always meant to be uncomfortable, right? Besides, I probably wouldn’t use them for wearing. I’d use them as prank ‘chancla’ and throw them at people, watching them recoil in horror only to then realize that I threw a foam flip-flop, not a concrete brick!
The post The iconic ‘Unipaver’ pavement brick gets turned into a pair of high-fashion flip-flops first appeared on Yanko Design.