David Beckham Wore This Divisive Trend To London Fashion Week – And Victoria Didn’t Seem To Mind

A couple of weeks ago I bumped into a friend on my local high-street. ‘Are you wearing socks with Birkenstocks, Laura?’ he asked, stating the obvious. ‘Yes!’ I replied cheerily, unwilling to rise to the tone. ‘Is that post-ironic, peak-cool now?’ he continued. I smiled and sauntered off on my merry, warm-footed way.

Being a straight, white, middle-aged man I didn’t expect him to ‘get’ the appeal – and, besides, I have long ago given up on dressing in a way the straight, white, middle-aged men of this world ‘get’. I was on my way to meet a fashion friend who would neither think of socks and sandals as a sign I had finally given up on life, nor a ‘post-ironic, peak-cool’ style statement. In fact, she wouldn’t think about it at all. Socks and sandals are just something we wear now, especially if you, like me, have been living in Birkenstocks for the past few months and are unwilling to let go of them just yet (I have tried, I have, but proper shoes just feel heavy and cumbersome now).

And yet the straight, white, middle-aged men of this world might soon get with the programme. That is, now that David Beckham is wearing socks with sandals. At Victoria Beckham’s SS21 presentation during this weekend’s socially distanced London Fashion Week, David pitched up in black slides and white socks. Those who don’t get it wondered if he was ok/running late/seriously committed to the art of waist-up dressing; but those of us who do (and there are many of us) know what David knows: socks and sandals are where it’s at.

He might normally turn up to Victoria's shows suited-and-booted, but this season the Beckhams embraced an ease that feels more appropriate for now. It certainly didn’t look like she was scowling behind her mask, so VB - doing her own impeccable version of dressing – down, in denim – must also be on board with this former fashion faux pas. Unsurprising really, the Beckhams know fashion – and socks + sandals are very much in it for this season. Just look at the AW20 catwalks: APC, The Row, Miu Miu and Sies Marjan all featured the lockdown power pairing. There were sheer pop socks at Erdem and patterned ones at Anna Sui, knee-high socks at Ulla Johnson and thigh-high ones at Vera Wang. Even that masters of ultra-glamourous, unapologetically sexy dressing, Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana, put socks and sandals on the runway. In 2020, the plot twists just keep coming.

Still, even if you are already a socks and sandals devotee, you might balk at the idea of wearing white socks. But they have enjoyed something of a renaissance this summer, with fashion’s favourite boundary-pushers – Zoe Kravitz and Chloe Sevigny – already championing them (there were also white socks on the Jacquemus and Simone Rocha catwalks). Ok, ok, maybe they are a bit ironic, but still, what’s wrong with that?

The appeal is rooted in the comfort, the ease (no need to bother with a trans-seasonal pedi) but there is also a rebellious charm to the defiant ugliness, the inherent frumpiness of socks and sandals. They can twist even classic looks into something unpredictable without trying too hard; proof you don't need to rely on PVC and leather to be a bit subversive. Besides, you can just think of them as an act of public service. Because let’s be honest, most people’s feet – even David Beckham’s – are best hidden.