Juani de la Rocha: Re-inventing The Espadrilles – Shoe Fashion for Summer 2013

For a couple of years now espadrilles are a must of summer time. Even Chanel customized and presented them in their S/S 2013 collection. Suddenly, everybody wants to have a pair of espadrilles, and there is no “it” girl, who does not wear them and proclaims how chìc, elegant and comfy they are. I could not avoid feeling surprised because for me espadrilles are not a discovery of the season: espadrilles have a long history within Spanish fashion and we are all kind of used to seeing them in our daily summer looks.

Originally, espadrilles were born in Pyrenees, Occitania and Catalonia, where they were made since the 14^th century. In the region of the Basque Country there are still shops that have been making espadrilles for over a century. The oldest, most primitive form of espadrilles goes as far back as 4,000 years. After that they expanded really fast across Spain and earned a place in Spanish culture in general.  They usually have a canvas or cotton upper and a flexible sole made of rope or rubber materials molded to look like rope. The jute rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille; the uppers vary widely in style. Often they have laces at the throat that are wrapped around the ankle to hold the shoes securely in place. The variety of colors in which they are made is huge as well.
However, after more than 400 years of existence, espadrilles became really popular worldwide in 1948 thanks to Lauren Bacall’s character in the movie Key Largo who wore a pair of ankle-laced espadrilles. After that espadrilles fever got revived in the 80’s: they were the shoes normally worn by the character of Sonny Crockett played by Don Johnson in the famous show Miami Vice.
There are thousands of flea markets along the Mediterranean coast of Spain and a pair of espadrilles will not cost more than 8€ ($10.5). At the beginning of 2013 a pair of espadrilles was sent to a shop in New York for more than $500…  Sometimes the hottest trends are not the newest things: they are just a re-invention of old accessories and clothes. There is one difference though. Nowadays they are much more expensive than in the past.