How Crocs, Birkenstock and Manolo Blahnik Have Kept Their Icon Products Hot and Relevant Throughout the Years

As part of FN’s special issue spotlighting the greatest shoes of all time, we explore what it takes to build a timeless hit, starting with the Crocs Classic Clog.

Think of the word “Crocs,” and there’s likely one image that comes to mind: the quirky Classic Clog. The iconic silhouette has consistently represented the purest version of the more than 20-year-old brand, known for its clunky, molded, hole-ladden slip-ons. And the style has been crucial for a brand that has prospered amid a pandemic, a challenging footwear market, rising shoe costs and rapidly shifting consumer trends.

“People associate — so strongly — our Classic Clog with our brand,” explained newly minted Crocs brand president Anne Mehlman in an interview with FN. “If the consumer connects with that, then they will want to buy other products from us [that are] still in our DNA.”

Of course, Crocs is just one of the major brands that has struck gold with iconic silhouettes. Birkenstock has its Arizona, Timberland has its 10061 wheat boot, Converse has its Chuck Taylor, Christian Louboutin has the So Kate, to name a few.

But in an-ever evolving fashion world, how do these core silhouettes withstand the test of time? According to market watchers, executives and brands, it all comes down to controlling distribution, staying true to design codes and innovating new ways for the brand to show up.

What makes an icon?

For some brands, what’s old can be new again — but only if the storytelling is executed in the right way.

For example, Manolo Blahnik’s Mary Jane is marking 30 years in the spotlight, and the brand hosted a buzzy summer party in New York to ignite fresh excitement about the storied style, first made famous by another fashion icon, Kate Moss, in 1994.

The label is also reemphasizing a number of other key silhouettes, including the Carolyne slingback pump, the Maysale mule, the BB pump, the Susa flat sandal and the Chaos anklestrap sandal in the women’s collection. “From a distance, I can immediately tell these shoes are ours. We’ve always gone back to [them]. Shoes that are investments are relevant,” said chief executive officer Kristina Blahnik.

Now, as the label forges ahead with global expansion — with a particular focus on Asia and the U.S. — its icons have never been more important.

“When I think about Manolo, they’re timeless and there is an endless life to them,” said Saks chief merchandising officer Tracy Margolies during a panel at the FN Summit in June. “There’s something about [the shoes] that feels classic but relevant and modern at the same time.”

But it’s not always easy to keep the excitement around classics alive, particularly in the athletic market, where formidable new competitors have emerged.

For example, the VF Corp.-owned Vans brand is in the midst of a turnaround effort after it failed to evolve older styles and became too dependent on classics and less strategic about where it showed up in the marketplace. In a call with analysts in May, VF CEO Bracken Darrell said that Vans is working to turn these missteps around with a new “icon management strategy” that will lessen the brand’s dependency on core styles.

On the flip side, labels that swing too far from their core also risk alienating consumers who have come to expect a certain look. When Converse upgraded its best-selling Chuck Taylor All Star in 2015 — the Chuck II — it was widely viewed as a flop after the slicker-looking and more-expensive iteration failed to land with consumers.

“I think the customer was confused,” said Matt Powell, an adviser at Spurwink River and senior adviser at BCE Consulting. As he put it, Converse seemingly failed to follow through on its marketing and storytelling efforts that would have explained what the updated shoe offered. “You have to tell the story very clearly about what this product is supposed to be and why it was different and maybe why it was better,” Powell said.

There’s no perfect way to update a classic. And it’s not something a brand will necessarily get right on the first try.

According to London-based shoe consultant Susannah Davda, a brand needs to understand what design elements make its product iconic. “What can we change without losing the brand identity?” Davda said. “And what can’t we?”

For Dr. Martens, its yellow stitching and lug soles have always been its defining characteristic. Last year, the British boot brand launched its 14XX collection, which re-created new designs based on classic Dr. Martens silhouettes like the 1460, 1461 and 2976.

“We’re taking the brand into new spaces with different looks, but always using the DNA and the values of the brand,” Dr. Martens chief product officer Adam Meek told FN in an April interview. Homing in on these iconic brand codes is especially important for the company, as it looks to reignite demand in North America after several quarters of declines.

For Birkenstock, its “foundation” has always been its footbed, explained chief product officer Markus Baum in an email interview with FN.

“It remains at the heart of every Birkenstock product, driving both tradition and innovation forward.” Updating classics, he said, depends on a “strategic blend of honoring our rich heritage and embracing innovation.” To do this, the company draws on Birkenstock’s archive of more than 700 silhouettes and incorporates new colors, materials and other variations into a new SKU.

For example, Birkenstock’s Big Buckle concept, a twist on the brand’s iconic Arizona style, launched in 2017. Since then, it’s been a major contributor to overall sales, growing at a faster rate than the overall brand, Baum said.

“It shows how we extend archive styles to meet the evolving preferences of consumers who seek both familiarity and novelty,” he added.

The distribution challenge

Unique design elements aside, some market watchers say that the key to maintaining an iconic product line is a smart distribution strategy. 

“There are all kinds of icons within footwear,” said Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser. “But are they relevant? And how do you keep them relevant? For me, relevant means people want it and they’re willing to pay full price.” 

While it may be tempting for a brand to flood the market with a hot product, demand should always slightly outweigh supply. 

“The single most important thing a brand has to do in today’s world is manage the marketplace,” said Powell. He called out New Balance, Birkenstock and Crocs as experts in this regard, and cautioned other brands like Adidas and Nike to take note. The Swoosh said in its most recent earnings call that it is scaling back distribution of popular models like Jordans and Dunks after it saturated the market to boost sales. Powell said that Adidas, which is regaining success with its popular retro styles, should try to avoid making the same mistake. 

“It’s critical for the health of products like the Samba and Gazelle that Adidas controls how many pairs go in the market,” Powell said. “Control who gets it and always try to keep supply below demand. That’s how you grow a healthy business.”

Going bigger

It’s also not enough for a brand to bank on iterations of one iconic product. That’s especially true if a company is public and subject to the rigorous growth demands of shareholders. 

“When a company is publicly listed, the expectations are high for a steep growth line,” said Davda. “It’s difficult when you need to get bigger and bigger and bigger with just iterations of one iconic silhouette.” 

So it’s not uncommon for brands with hot core silhouettes to enter adjacent categories. Crocs, for example, operates a robust sandal business in addition to its clogs. In 2023, sandals grew 29 percent and made up 13 percent of the total Crocs sales mix. Executives expect sandal growth to outpace overall company growth in 2024. 

“They may not want to buy a clog, but they may really like our brand,” Crocs’ Mehlman said. “They like what we stand for. So we can do sandals in the same way.” 

Birkenstock is also focused on building up its offering in new categories. The brand’s pipeline of new products, such as the Birki Air 2.0 and the Boston Pro clog both feature Birkenstock design elements repurposed for new environments: The Birki Air 2.0 is targeted to hospital professionals on their feet and the Boston Pro provides support and safety for people in the hospitality industry. Birkenstock is also marketing the benefits of its footbed in running stores to position its shoes as an ideal recovery option for runners after their workouts. 

“By expanding our offerings within specific categories, we can deepen our footprint and reinforce our leadership in those areas,” Birkenstock’s Baum said. 

After creditors took over Toms amid financial turmoil in 2019, the brand, best known for its canvas slip-on, or Alpargata, has made an effort to diversify its product lineup to include sandals, espadrilles and casual sneakers. Prior to this shift, the brand had struggled to translate its success with millennial consumers to younger generations like Gen Z and was criticized for relying too much on the Alpargata. 

Now, sales of non-Alpargata products make up between 60 and 70 percent of the Toms business. 

“We’re much more diversified,” CEO Magnus Wedhammar told FN during FFANY’s June footwear market week. “The consumer is voting for great design, but also brand. It’s the combination of the two.”