Birkenstock is putting its own spin on the high-low footwear collab this month.
The cork sandal brand—bought last year by an investment firm affiliated with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton—will release its first styles with Carrie Bradshaw favorite Manolo Blahnik Thursday. A second release is slated for June.
The capsule’s four unique styles remake classic Birkenstock silhouettes with “proudly glamorous” details for a collection that is, according to the two brands, “at once radically modern and dynamic.” Prices start at $680 and top out at $810, according to Saks Fifth Avenue’s e-commerce site.
The line features velvet-covered takes on Birkenstock’s signature Arizona sandal and Boston clog, both of which come in fuchsia and blue. The collection also includes a more traditional, black Arizona sandal with straps made from soft leather, as well as a black leather Boston clog. All four embellish Birkenstock’s standard buckle with crystals.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Manolo Blahnik, whose unrivalled craftsmanship has long set the bar for shoemaking,” Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert said in a statement. “This is a unique collection, fusing our trademark designs with the flair of Manolo Blahnik, to create pieces that embrace a bold and directional aesthetic that takes both to a new level.”
The collection is not the first time Birkenstock teamed up with Manolo Blahnik. In 2020, the company featured the fashion designer and his niece, company CEO Kristina Blahnik, in its Spring/Summer campaign, capturing the pair at the upscale footwear brand’s original London store. That shoot “marked the starting point of an even deeper collaboration—the end result of which is this unique collection,” the brands said.
“Birkenstock share both brand and core design values much like our own and it has been a joy to bring this to life in the new Manolo Blahnik for Birkenstock collection,” Kristina Blahnik said in a statement. “Timeless, high-quality designs, crafted to be treasured and enjoyed is what we set out to create and I am delighted with the outcome. It is a privilege to cement our relationship further with Birkenstock through this collaboration.”
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Though the collection’s prices represent a significant premium on Birkenstock’s standard price point, they are nowhere close to the tens of thousands of dollars MSCHF demanded for the unofficial Birkenstock-Hermès sandals it created last year. Created using leather from the luxury brand’s pricy Birkin bags and Birkenstock’s cork footbeds, the pricy “Birkinstocks” started at $34,000 per pair.
The past few years have seen a flurry of collaborations between traditionally upscale brands and more comfort-oriented footwear companies. Perhaps most notoriously, Balenciaga and Crocs kicked off what has become a long-running relationship with a pair of pink platform clogs. Last April, Balenciaga debuted the now-frequent collaborators’ latest styles—including stiletto clogs—at its Spring 2022 runway show.