Fashion has always been about personalisation and showing off your uniqueness, but in recent years, customisation has surged to new heights. In particular, the desire to customise footwear has increased. This has been driven primarily by the Gen Z generation, all with the goal of furthering their self-expression through personal style and even DIY-inspired modifications. As coined by WGSN, this has been termed “chaotic customisation”. This chaotic customisation trend is pushing boundaries within the fashion industry, celebrating excess, creative freedom and individuality. It’s in direct contrast to the other major fashion trends of minimalism and fast fashion.
Much of this has been driven by social media, specifically the influence of TikTok. There is a rising interest in embellishing items like shoes, and the shift in aesthetics away from minimalism to maximalism. Importantly though, this trend is not just about looks and overall aesthetics, but also about creating joy, having fun, getting emotional expression and reclaiming one’s identity, all through fashion.
From Pearls to Pins: How Footwear Customization Is Evolving
These days, there’s a huge variety of ways to customise an item such as a shoe. There are many different techniques out there too, many of which can be done within the brand itself when purchasing the shoe, or afterwards by the buyer. For instance, increasingly, there are more options before purchasing to customise and choose the colour palette for a shoe. Additionally, some brands offer embroidery as an option with specific patterns and designs to be added, or even customising names and designs for an extra cost. Depending on the shoe and the brand, there’s increasingly the option to add charms, beads, lace clips and other add-onsto a shoe as well.
Importantly, this customisation trend is impacting the entire market. Yes, major luxury brands such as Miu Miu, Adidas and Coach have all implemented such customisation options, but so has mass-market labels like Converse and Crocs. These mass-market brands have tapped into the trend by offering shoe personalisation stations within stores, limited edition charm releases of shoes and even increasing numbers of collaborations with artists and influencers who add their own design spin to the shoe.
Crocs in particular, have a wealth of different customisation and personalisation options available. For instance, it has the Jibbitz charms which can be added to a range of shoes. The colour palettes when ordering Crocs is huge, and with the addition of charms, it becomes easy to create a unique pair of shoes. However, customisation comes at an added cost, and this can add up. But Crocs also offers discount codes or coupons, which helps to make these customisation features accessible to the wider public. These codes and discounts can be easily found on the Discoup.com page dedicated to Crocs which means they’re easy to claim and add to an order, alongside the customisation additions. This type of affordability allows the younger generation to participate in the trend too. And this allows them to not compromise on their style, while also not losing out when it comes to the financial side of things as well.
Why the Future of Fashion Is Personalized
This customisation trend has wider implications when it comes to the fashion industry. While primarily focused on shoes, it’s a growing trend and one likely to spread to other clothing items in the future. It’s also not just a passing fad, but one that has been growing and expanding for years. And it’s down to a clear cultural shift toward individuality and the emotional connection with clothes and the outward appearance.
There are ongoing innovations too, with the option for DIY experiences within retail spaces allowing buyers to customise the items themselves, while still using quality materials to do so. Increasingly, upcycling and deadstock materials are used to breath new life into older items. And there are also now digital customisation tools such as AR-augmented footwear, which bring an entirely new aspect to the customisation game.
What this all means though, is that this creativity is also becoming sustainable, with the younger generation simply changing up the items they have without purchasing new items again. It also gives the younger generation more agency over their style, resulting in more unique designs and looks. Why not take the time to get creative, experiment and explore your personal style.
