Poetry for Your Feet
Socks reclaim their role as an integral part of any outfit. With the trend at full tilt, new Spanish brands offer fun and original designs.
Like a phoenix, socks have resurrected into a renewed wardrobe staple splashed in Technicolor. The sockless trend is a thing of the past. “Today socks are just one more item to help us communicate through dress,” says Macarena Kindelán of Hopsocks.
Brandishing the slogan ‘Poetry for your feet’, the company has shown its OEKO-TEX®-certified cotton socks at Première Classe (Paris) and Premium (Berlin) and they’re already selling in France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Korea and Japan. Their sights are currently set on the United States. “It’s also a product that’s easy to sell online, since sizing isn’t problem,” Macarena added.
The founders of Sockaholic were also “sick of socks and boring executives.” After just four years, they’re even selling in Japan. Their top product, the “Overlook Hotel” model, pays homage to the wall-to-wall carpeting in the classic horror film “The Shining” and is their online store’s bestseller. It currently receives the most orders from the United Kingdom.
“Everyone uses socks and they’re a blank slate for painting thousands of refreshing ideas,” says Jorge Santiagosa of Socketines, who has a soft spot for the herringbone designs. “It’s a throwback to our childhood: a classic that we’ve repositioned on the market, but with a modern makeover.” Designs in organic cotton and the finest wools are already available in Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland, and they just launched a range of children’s sizes for “the smaller #Feetishists of the household”.
These brands are fresh faces in the hosiery market, where Punto Blanco, with a presence in more than 40 countries and an annual production of 5 million pairs, plays up its years of experience. As Anna Mª Zenón points out, “the arrival on the scene of highly influential bloggers has given a clear boost to certain wardrobe items that had been unfairly forgotten. Plus, trouser legs have gotten shorter, giving socks more visibility.” In addition to their traditionally formal and classic options for men, women and children, innovative thermal and deodorizing sock collections are springing up alongside more “lavish products for demanding feet” in such fabrics as bamboo, Australian wool, silk and cashmere.
