It’s time to sum up the season of all things pretty, ugly and simply unimaginable! During spring/summer 2022 we challenged ordinary notions of beauty and dived into the wild realm of ugly fashion with our Pretty Ugly collection. We also connected with other enthusiasts of dubious beauty, who helped us spread some of our wonderfully weird designs through their social media platforms.
First, we joined forces with a real connoisseur of the wildest and oddest footwear ever seen: Lars LaLa, the creator of the iconic “shoestagram” by the same name. An internationally-acclaimed freelance journalist published in magazines like Dazed Digital, W Magazine, Interview Magazine and more, dedicated his account exclusively to footwear failures from international catwalks presented by designers worldwide.
Propped with images of shoes that will make your toes cringe, Lars LaLa’s grid presents a collection of footwear that never cease to make us gasp with a mix of delight and disbelief. We’ve been honored to see our Funky Times and Sharing is Caring socks on his feed!
Read more about Lars’ unceasing passion for ugly fashion.
Hi Lars! Thank you for joining us during our Pretty Ugly fashion season. Could you tell us about how you started your ''shoestagram'' ?
I posted a picture of my designer friend’s graduate collection shoes and when it got more than 1000 likes it all just snowballed. I am a real like-chaser.
Which designs from our Pretty Ugly Collection stood out particularly for you?
The Sharing is Caring Socks – I love this idea and concept so much! Because who doesn’t want to share socks with their loved ones.
If you could design a sock yourself, what would it look like?
A giant chicken wing or a dirty martini!
Do you see any Pretty Ugly footwear trends coming up in the near future?
Platform shoes - so ugly, you gotta love it!
We also reached out to @uglydesign – an infamous Instagram account curated by Jonas Nyffenegger & Sébastien Mathys. The name says it all; they are a real authority on inconceivable ugliness and therefore the ultimate match for showcasing our Pretty Ugly collection. With their help we had a chance to reach ugliness-aficionados all over the world. After all, as @uglydesigns proclaims, ugly stuff brings the necessary dose of joy and astonishment that disrupts too perfect Instagram feeds.
We really hope their posts featuring our Funky Times and Sunday Funday socks, and Poodle Pool Sliders brought the healthy portion of ugliness to diversify your scrolling routine.
See what Jonas and Sébastien have to say about the noble office of curating ugliness!
You are experts in seeing the beauty in ugly design. How was it to put your expertise and judge the socks and pool sliders from our Pretty Ugly collection this time around?
It was super fun! We were very excited to see the collection before anyone else. One of my favorites was the Cowzy Sock. Truly inspiring!
Be honest: how ugly are actually the designs in our collection?
If we have to be honest this collection isn't that ugly; I think we're just scratching the surface here. The potential in ugly aesthetics is huge. Maybe we should design the next collection. What do you think?
Tell us more about the ideas behind the posts you’ve created for us.
For all the posts we started with the socks in hand or should we say, on our feet. We love to see how far people take a theme. How ugly can layers get, or what else is made with poodles or for poodles that fits within the ugly design universe?
If you could add an ugly design of your own to our collection, what would it be?
Honestly designing stuff that is ugly is hard. Lately we've been thinking about dinosaurs, Luigi Colani, motocross, and cows. I know we'd come up with some truly ugly pairs of socks.
What is the biggest ugly trend in design right now according to you?
The most prestigious of brands are ripping off the pink flamingos of yesterday. It’s as though the masses are aware of the trendsetter John Waters. We’re honestly confused about what’s going to be ugly next. The rate at which ugly becomes longed for is just so rapid.
I guess what we’re trying to say is—is ugly even ugly any more, or was it ever?
