In a country characterised by nuance, detail is everything in the South African contemporary fashion lexicon. As an important element of our greater culture, from head to toe, no item of clothing is without its significance and in 2022, the shoe that seems to have trail blazed its way ahead of the others, is the loafer.
Street fashion in particular is the ultimate playground of South African fashion, with young designers often starting within that realm. Think also of all the thrift boutiques we see on Instagram, with an endless stream of vintage sportswear and sneakers. Given influences over the last few years – such as the rising popularity (and invasive nature) of sneakerhead culture, a lean towards shapewear and the pandemic acting as the final nail in the coffin for much of the traditionally professional attire, it makes sense that anything BUT the loafer would be the shoe form of the year.
Yet, like a dark horse, it is.
Its saving grace is that the loafer walks the fine line between the beauties of class and comfort. In favour of class: this year saw the collaboration of 1980s menswear brand Dakotas and Wanda Lephoto, who seeks to merge luxury classic fashionwear and African lived culture. In their collaboration, we saw the Hi Shine Mule loafer. The shoe is a warm reminder of how the loafer has successfully become an integral part of the lexicon of South African luxury, divorced from its English origins. In the absence of consistent documentation and archival culture, Dakotas x Wanda Lephoto evokes memories of the prevalence of the loafer as a fashion staple in Skhothane culture.
amble, a Cape Town slow fashion brand, also specialises in loafers with the ethical cleanse of an upcycled leather. This is exemplary of the fact that the loafer, in 2022, pays tribute to its long journey of becoming a contemporary luxury symbol, while also being aware of the modern fashion climate (crisis). amble’s loafers may be black leather, but they also have the subtle green of good politics.
In terms of colours and loafers, no one is doing it like a megaforce of a brand. In favour of comfort, there’s none other than the Croc! Although it seems like Crocs may be a genre of a shoe entirely of their own, removed from our taxonomy of fashion, they are by definition a loafer. Gaining popularity for their comfort, Crocs have seen in recent years a total rebrand from being the DUFF of the shoe family to something of a personal staple for many.
A year ago, we wrote about how Crocs had been purified by social media and officially in. Although social media is and will for a long time be leading the conversation on what’s in and what’s out, Crocs have done something akin to a miracle in these digital ages: they’ve survived. They’ve survived the flurry of hype and back-and-forth discourse and are, in the tail end of 2022, just a cool shoe to have. It isn’t so much a statement anymore, or an affirmation of their return. While it might have started that way, in an almost anti-elite way, surviving a year points to the fact that once people slipped them on so easily, they become a lot harder to take off.
So in 2022, the Croc, with its fun 2000s-esque bedazzling, is just one face of the shoe form that has seemingly won the year. What’s next for fashion might very well come quickly, as these things go these days, but for now: whether slipping into for comfort or lacing up for a classy look, the loafer is a subtle and determined fighter.
