Are you getting suspicious of your weather app? Feeling like the forecasters are lying to you, and finding yourself unprepared for a rapid change in temperature, or a sudden onset of rain? Fear not, for Havaianas and MARKET are once again working together to brave the elements, and have been developing a footwear solution for you — the Zip Top, the first 2-in-1 puffer flip-flop. As Leonardo Boin, Havaianas footwear, industrial and 3D design senior manager puts it, “the Zip Top is the most disruptive silhouette we've ever designed for the Havaianas brand.” The new product follows on from the brands’ successful first collaboration earlier this year that saw the creation of thermo-reactive flip flops, which changed color from black to red when exposed to heat.
Havaianas is naturally keen to maintain its reputation as the world’s leading purveyor of fine flip-flops, so any potential collaborators must be selected with the utmost consideration and care. Cult LA label MARKET’s full-throttle, full-fun approach to fashion is what appealed to the Brazilian brand from the beginning — but product innovation is where things really get exciting. The Zip Top transforms the traditional flip-flop silhouette into a versatile, all-weather platform via a zip along the edge of the footbed and on the base of the upper that allows you to attach or remove the adjustable puffer upper at your leisure — quite the footwear leap indeed. The shoe is made complete with the addition of the co-branded Havaianas x MARKET logo, which appears stitched on a label on the upper, and on the strap and footbed.
For MARKET founder Mike Cherman, the collaboration represented an opportunity to revolutionize the sandal experience for consumers. “Building a fully modular system into a sandal enables Havaianas to continue on this road of designing and developing new uppers for their already iconic line of sandals,” he shares. Modularity was also at the forefront of design consultant Daniel Bailey’s mind, as he notes that “cross-functional utility is often the end goal for a lot of the projects I’m involved in, the North Star being to create a product that is constructed in a manner that aligns with the body's ergonomics and is seamless in its transformation from one form into another.” For Bailey, the collaboration definitely proved fruitful. “Working closely with Mike, this is something I think we achieved with the Market x Havaianas silhouette,” he notes.
So come rain or shine, sand or snow, whether on the beautiful beaches of Brazil or the soon-to-be wintery streets of Berlin, Havaianas and MARKET have just the right footwear for you.
The Zip Top collection is available now on havaianas.com and the Highsnobiety shop.
