Their new quilted slides have more than a whiff of those by the double Cs

By Shu Xie

While fabrics quilted to effect a pattern of repeated diamond shapes need not be strictly associated with Chanel, it really is, as they conjure the brand’s bags almost instantly. That’s why when I saw this pair of Birkenstock 1774 Slyt denim-upper slides, I could not help but think of the double C’s own, in lambskin, of course. Perhaps it is the brand’s somewhat excessive use of what is too-often consider “house codes”, which could be synonym for cliché, that has made the quilts less special. Moreover, if Chanel can quilt whatever they wanted and applied it to anything that needs such a a surface treatment, other can, too.

Which is probably why it is no deterrent to Birkenstock. To be fair, the German brand does play down the similarity. There are the top-stitches in red, the larger size of the diamond shape, and the matte silver rivet (not gold!) on the sides. And it sits on the brand’s distinctive (ironically, also much copied) sunken footbed. These unisex slides are beautifully light and the padded uppers sit on the top of the foot snugly and comfortably, leaving no unwieldy gaps between them. If there is a con to these slides, it is the somewhat prohibitive price.

Birkenstock 1774 Sylt Denim quilted slides, SGD 560, are available at Birkenstock, ION Orchard. Photo: Zhao Xiangji