Crocs has found football – and instead of playing it straight, it’s turned up in full kit, laces undone, doing its own thing.
This, though, isn’t a gimmick, it’s a full link-up with Umbro that leans into the oddness of it all – and comes out the other side looking... kind of sick?
Because, on paper, it shouldn’t work. Crocs, the undisputed king of comfort-core, colliding with Umbro, a brand whose entire identity is tied to cold Tuesday nights, Drill Tops and the authority of the Double Diamond.
But that tension is exactly where this lands. At the centre of it all: two clogs, of course.
First is the Umbro Crafted Clog, the more considered of the two releases, which features a quilted, washed textile upper – a clear nod to the aforementioned Drill Top – and a faux tongue that feels lifted straight from a boot bag circa 2003.
There’s an archival Umbro wordmark stamped across it, while the Double Diamond sits exactly where you’d want it. It’s subtle, if you can call a Croc subtle.
Then there’s the Umbro Classic Clog, which is less subtle and more “why the hell not?”.
A detachable lace cover riffs on the Umbro Speciali – arguably one of the most no-nonsense boots ever made – layered over a tonal logo print and finished with a chunky embossed diamond on the side.
Let’s call it: part terrace, part changing room, and part something else entirely.
