Mondo Guerra for Crocs Footwear Collection — A Print Friendly Project!
Yesterday, I had the chance to meet Project Runway All-Stars Season 1 winner Mondo Guerra and discuss his newest project: a footwear collaboration with Crocs. Now, as I headed to the event celebrating the capsule collection’s launch, I was a bit skeptical about whether I’d like the shoes. After all, I tend to associate Crocs with those cumbersome, clumsy-looking, clunky clogs with Swiss cheese-sized perforations all over their vamps or similarly unseemly nursing shoes. But it’s a good thing I kept an open mind since, as it turns out, Crocs has been steadily expanding its array of footwear silhouettes in hopes of winning over a more demanding, fashion conscious clientele. It’s partly because of this desire to reshape the brand’s image in the style landscape that executives approached Mondo Guerra, whose quirky designs and penchant for colorful and whimsical prints made him an audience favorite throughout the two seasons in which he appeared on Project Runway. The Colorado-based company also shared a bit of history with Guerra, himself a native of Denver, Colorado.
During our chat yesterday, Guerra mentioned that he, too, was initially unsure about whether to collaborate with Crocs since, like me, he’d made certain assumptions about their footwear range. He was pleasantly surprised to discover just how much Crocs had broadened its array of offerings and was particularly drawn to two of their flat silhouettes: the Kadee, a ballerina-inspired slip-on shoe that’s remarkably lightweight thanks to the Croslite material out of which it was constructed and which features circulation nubs along the footbed to gently massage feet and boost comfort; and the Gianna, a similar slip-on style but one with a more modest and classic look as it doesn’t incorporate the side cut-outs or the tiny perforations along the front. After discussing the collaboration, all parties agreed that Guerra could add his own stamp to these shoe silhouettes via the use of playful prints.
As a nod to his devoted Project Runway fans, Guerra chose a polka dot print for the Gianna flat he designed, hoping it would remind folks of the floor-length, long-sleeved, form-fitting, black-and-white polka dot dress that concluded his solo show on Season 8’s finale (when he lost to Gretchen Jones, leading to major backlash from fans) and which Heidi Klum subsequently wore on the red carpet (albeit without the long sleeves). Like the dress, the flat features a black backdrop with large white spots, but it’s given a dash of color via the addition of a bright pink band running horizontally along the front of the shoe, above the toe. The Crocs Gianna MONDO Dot Flat retails for $49.99 and is available exclusively at the Crocs store on 34th Street Herald Square in New York City.
One of the two Kadee flat designs he created also features one of his signature prints. The Kadee MONDO Geo Flat, retailing for $39.99 and available only at the Crocs store on 34th Street in New York City, features a black-and-white geometric print that was first seen in a pair of sunglasses he designed as part of a collaboration with SEE Eyewear. The yellow sole and lining, meanwhile, add a pop of intense color to the otherwise monochromatic design.
Last, but not least, the second Kadee flat in the three-piece capsule collection features a color-blocked design that mixes and matches two distinct prints: a black-and-white chevron pattern along the front and wide bands of purple, violet, peach, and red along the sides. The Crocs Kadee MONDO Colorblock Flat retails for $39.99 and, again, is available at the Crocs store on 34th Street in NYC.
Don’t live in the New York City area? Well, don’t fret! The collection will roll out nationally in the fall and Guerra is already talking about new silhouettes (like maybe some funky rain boots!).
Here are some close-ups of the three shoes in the collection:
Make sure to view the video of Mondo discussing the collaboration! And here’s a couple of shots of us at yesterday’s event:
