The renaissance of the slip-on canvas shoe is in full swing, people. Thanks to the popularity of Squid Game, sale of the white slip-on shoes have gone through the bloody roof (for lack of a better phrase).
Turns out sales of the completely white Vans shoes have spiked over 7,800% since the show’s premiere, according to The Sole Supplier, and white slip-on canvas shoes in general have reportedly seen an online search boost of around 97%. Considering the show dropped just in time for everyone to start preparing Halloween and other dress-up party costumes, it’s no surprise the slip-on shoe has seen a considerable boost in interest.
The simple shoe style has gained serious popularity since everyone inhaled the Korean survival horror series, in which contestants are pitted against each other in a format that would make The Hunger Games and Survivor blush.
In the show, numbered contestants are made to wear green tracksuits and white canvas shoes that look exactly like the Vans Triple White Classic Slip On shoe.
my girl got the squid game shoes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aqnviJV3WY
— ripple 🧋 (@rippleboba) October 2, 2021
You know what this is reminding me of? That deep obsession we all had with Raben shoes in the mid-00s. They were THE shoe back in high school. I distinctly remember making specific plans to visit the Raben store near Central Station in Sydney on a trip to the city one time, purely so I could buy a pair of black slip-ons to wear to school.
Plus, they were like $20 as well, so you didn’t mind too much when they inevitably got thrashed, as canvas shoes are wont to do.
Now that the plain white canvas shoes are popping off like nobody’s business, how long do we reckon it’s going to take Vans to do a Squid Game collab range? Literally all it would have to be is the Triple Whites with a blood spatter on them, and maybe the card’s Ojingeo Geim logo on the inside.
