When you scroll through the reviews for Fitflop’s Shuv clogs, the mood is one of podiatric ecstacy:
“I have arthritis in my hips and they help my balance!”
“They’re some of the only shoes I can wear with my insertional tendonitis!”
“From the first day I started wearing these clogs they transformed my hip and knee pain!”
It’s like a dedicated online community for the orthopaedically challenged.
Good arch support has not, historically, been considered the basis for a shit hot fashion trend – but then, the industry’s relationship with flat shoes undergone something of a 180 over the course of the last decade. Now it’s as if, with each season that passes, brands try harder to outdo one another in the quest to create the world’s most (heterosexual) man-repelling shoe.
First came New Balance sneakers, Crocs and Birkenstocks, followed by JW Anderson’s Wellipets and Loewe’s platform clogs. Then, as we clip-clopped into 2025, the fashion world witnessed a new slew of fugly shoes: Balenciaga’s Scholl collaboration, Ecco’s partnership with Natacha Ramsay-Levi, and of course, the chilling fashionification of the “toe shoe” – a style I’ve heard being described as a “foot condom”, which tells you everything you need to know. There’s never been so much support for, well, foot support.
Prior to my personal, Shuv-inspired revelation last year, FitFlop was a brand I regarded, somewhat unfairly, as a relic of the Noughties-moms-at-Zumba era. But when I caught sight of the brand’s new silhouettes – so sleek! So minimalist! – I knew I had to have a pair in my wardrobe. It seems I’m not the only new convert: according to the brand, in the last five months alone, sales of Fitflop’s mules have doubled. That’s a whole lotta clogs.
I get it, though. Twelve months and many, many wears later, I can confirm that these babies look great with just about everything. I believe the secret to its success lies in the structured round toe – it’s very “haute hoof”, in the best way possible – which is perfect for balancing out my favourite baggy jeans (I find that sleek loafers and ballet pumps can sometimes get a bit lost in slouchy hemlines), but also provides a sturdy counterpoint to this season’s awkward-length skirt. And the comfort – dear God, the comfort. As a sneaker-ambivalent individual and long-standing sufferer of uncomfortable-but-pretty shoes, this addition to my collection has made my feet very happy indeed.
