Matt Varga Among the unexpected designer/brand partnerships that have blossomed this decade, Salehe Bembury and his work with Crocs may be top of the list. That’s on two fronts, both surprising at first glance and also in just how successful it’s been, vaulting the Colorado company back into the mix as a major footwear player. Continuing that extremely fruitful relationship, the Salehe Bembury Saru will be the first of two signature models in their shared history, following the hotly-anticipated announcement of the Crocs Juniper.
Much of what sets the Saru apart from mainline Crocs releases is their one-piece upper, eschewing the back hinge and adding additional structural padding at the heel, no doubt necessitated by the lack of the pivoting heel strap. While a subtle change at first blush, it’s pretty transformative categorically- the slip-on nature that it opens up makes these closer to a mule formally.
Additionally, while the twisting Pollex sole design has become a calling card of Bembury’s work, each previous clog marked with the technology was designated as such. Put differently, they carried Pollex branding in their title to set them apart from mainline releases. Here it seems that the branching traction is an inlaid feature of the model itself, appearing on all three of the shown colorways.
These three initial editions, all coming in monochromatic fashion, harken back to his already produced work under the Colorado brand. In “Gobi” clay red, “Pesto” green and a yet-unnamed ecru, the debut Saru Clogs run at least adjacent to his previous “Kuwata,” “Crocodile,” and “Horchata” versions of the Pollex clog.
For now, a retail price remains unconfirmed, but the Salehe Bembury Crocs Saru Clog will drop March 21st at 9AM PST via his beaspunge.com. That initial release is likely a precursor to a wide one via Crocs.com later down the road.
In another high-profile collaboration, the first Jordan Jumpman Jack looms for release towards the end of April.
