You might think Crocs—and Cruggs—are having a moment in 202—or not—but it was Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia and Christopher Kane who originally introduced them to the world of high-fashion way back in 2017. For Balenciaga’s Spring 2022 collection, which debuted on Sunday 6 June, Gvasalia has upped his ‘Crocs game’ once again, presenting knee-high boot and stiletto takes on the classic ugly shoe.

Balenciaga x Crocs pic.twitter.com/c8pKNaaiXJ

— Couture is Beyond (@CoutureIsBeyond) June 7, 2021

“We were inspired by Crocs and we worked with them on a Balenciaga reinterpretation. Balenciaga x Crocs isn’t impossible, the question of taste is a very subjective value. We’ll see if this works in six months’ time in the stores,” Gvasalia told French Vogue in 2017. “I wore Crocs this summer to see how I felt about them and they are the world’s comfiest shoes! I just wanted to give them a fashionable touch: a platform. At the end of the day, fashion is all about having fun.”

The iconic $850 platform clogs ended up being a huge hit, selling out well before they even hit the sales floors and becoming a street style favourite during Fashion Week. We won’t be surprised if the same results happen with this upcoming collab, too.

How would you even style this??? I want actual answers because... https://t.co/iH3RYP2V7y

— ⚜️ (@dxnxtxllo) June 6, 2021

don’t let nicki see these https://t.co/3PIcjYxgpq

— 𝐬𝐮𝐳𝐢𝐞 (@theshawnyboy) June 7, 2021

In response to Gucci’s Alessandro Michele ‘hacking’ Balenciaga for his new Aria collection in April, Gvasalia also debuted a hacking lab project with the Italian luxury label, showing Gucci handbag silhouettes and belt buckles with the double-G logo replaced with a double-B logo. “Alessandro and I are very different,” Gvaslia told Vogue in a recent interview. “But we both like to question this whole question around branding and appropriation…because everyone does it, whether they say it or not.”

So, cop or not?