OK, well that was fast. When designer Demna Gvasalia sent out Balenciaga’s quirky-cool streetwear take on Crocs (stretched to a sky-high length, saturated in sunny hues and bedecked in kitschy pins) on the spring ’18 runway last September, it was to the dismay of Serious Fashion People (aka people who take fashion very seriously) in the front row. But for street-style stars, it shed a new beautiful light on the “ugly” rubber style, signaling a new era in which Crocs were not just socially acceptable, but embraced.

Still, there might have been some reservations about whether Gvasalia’s influence could extend to footwear’s most controversial and divisive shoe. Some might have thought it impossible (this writer, included). But now, with absolute certainty, all those doubts can be laid to rest. This morning, Balenciaga’s $850 foam embellished platform Crocs were available for pre-order at Barneys in the tan and bubblegum-pink colorways. And by noon, all sizes in both hues were completely sold out.

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Who’s buying them? Where will they wear them?, you might be asking yourself. With New York Fashion Week about a week away, we expect to see them all over the street-style scene.

“When Balenciaga approached us, we were intrigued by the opportunity to push the boundaries of our design and molding capabilities to see what we could create together,” Michelle Poole, SVP of global product and marketing for Crocs, previously told FN.“Working with Balenciaga has been so much fun for our team, and once again demonstrates the relevance of our iconic clog in today’s fashion and design world, as well as allowing us to tap into the excitement and energy that comes from unexpected partnerships.”

We called it: 2018 might indeed be the Year of the Crocs (Shia LaBeouf must be thrilled).

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