{"id":30,"date":"2021-02-09T21:51:19","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T21:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/ancillaryconsumerbehaviour\/chapter\/the-shoes-that-broke-the-internet\/"},"modified":"2021-06-24T14:30:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T14:30:32","slug":"the-shoes-that-broke-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/ancillaryconsumerbehaviour\/chapter\/the-shoes-that-broke-the-internet\/","title":{"raw":"The Shoes That Broke The Internet","rendered":"The Shoes That Broke The Internet"},"content":{"raw":"
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The Shoes That Broke The Internet by Andrea Niosi and Pamela Ip<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_29\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"Sign Dr. Bonnie Henry, the public health officer for the province of British Columbia quickly became a household name at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic and shared an expression that soon became a message of unity to BC: \"be kind, be calm, and be safe.\"[\/caption]\n\nIt was 4:00pm on Thursday April 23rd, 2020 and the Fluevog marketing team had just updated the John Fluevog website to feature the first-ever shoe designed in collaboration with a customer. Not just any customer, but an actual \u201cFluevoger\u201d who became a household name at the start of a global pandemic. The \u201cDr. Henry\u201d shoes were designed as a tribute to Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia\u2019s Public Health Officer. Early into the pandemic, British Columbians came to recognize Dr. Henry as a soothing and calming voice in the midst of a troubling and confusing time for everyone.\n\nBy 4:04pm the website crashed, caused by an overload to the system by eager customers trying to get their hands on the limited edition shoes. At 6:37pm, Fluevog tweeted, \u201cCongrats to those who managed to get a pair of the \u201cDr. Henry\u201d shoes. We are now sold out. We\u2019re sorry for any stress caused - we clearly underestimated your enthusiasm - but are excited for the funds raised for the @RealFoodBanksBC and promise to be better prepared in the future\u201d (Judd & Zussman, 2020).\n\nFrom Vancouver to Australia, orders were coming in at an unprecedented rate. Could Fluevog have anticipated this kind of reaction? How did they underestimate the allure the Dr. Henry shoes would be around the globe?\n

The Accidental Influencer<\/h2>\nDr. Bonnie Henry began her career as a family doctor and specialist in public health and preventative medicine. She is the first woman to become the Provincial Health Officer for the province of British Columbia. Her early handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia earned praise from the New York Times, who in June of 2020 ran an in-depth article on Dr. Henry\u2019s handling of the pandemic naming her\u00a0 identified \"one of the most effective public health officials in the world.\" (Porter, 2020)..\n

A Mantra is Born<\/h2>\nDr. Henry\u2019s press conference on March 17, 2020, is one few British Columbians will forget. It was on this day that Dr. Henry declared that BC was officially in a public health emergency: schools (and most non-essential businesses) were to be closed and social distancing measures were to be put in place. Dr. Henry also spoke six words that soon became adopted as a guiding statement for the residents of BC in the weeks and months ahead: be kind, be calm, be safe, she said. In an instant, a mantra was born and became one of the most repeated phrases of British Columbians over the next 10 months.\n

Unconventional Shoes for the Unconventional Consumer<\/h2>\nSeen regularly on the feet of Dr. Henry at her daily press briefings were a pair of Fluevog shoes. For those who aren\u2019t familiar with the west-coast brand, these shoes can be best described as whimsical, unconventional, smart, unique, and unconventionally classy. Over the years the brand, headed up by John Fluevog, has created a number of \u201ctribute shoes\u201d to honour those who inspire and face the world with grace and courage to make positive changes.\n\nJohn Fluevog started his career as a shoe maker in Vancouver, BC in 1970. His partnership with Peter Fox lasted 10 years, after which he went solo and opened his own store in downtown Vancouver (\u201c50 Years\u2026\u201d, n.d.).\u00a0 In the 1980\u2019s, Fluevog continued to expand his stores throughout the U.S. appealing to consumers with a unique and unconventional sense of style and self-expression. By the 1990\u2019s, Fluevog found itself to be at the centre of the Grunge fashion movement, especially along the west coast from Seattle to Vancouver. Fluevog gained a strong footing in the pop culture scene of the 90\u2019s when celebrities such as Madonna,Dee-lite, and Lady Miss Kier wore the shoes sending the brand to new heights of \u201cinternational fandom\u201d (\u201c50 Years\u2026\u201d, n.d.).\n\nIn the 2000\u2019s, Fluevog continued to build the brand and make \u201ctraditionally-made untraditional shoes\u201d using eco-friendly materials: by this time Fluevog had a well-developed niche market and brand community of \u201cFluevogers\u201d who had unconventional and unique tastes in footwear and a growing consciousness about sustainability and environmentalism. Fluevog appealed to consumers with the motto, \u201cgood soles leave small prints\u201d (\u201c50 Years\u2026\u201d, n.d.). By 2010, FastCompany declared John Fluevog Shoes one of the most Innovative Companies in the Fashion Industry, alongside Timberland, Coach, and Stella McCartney (\u201cMost Innovative\u2026\u201d, n.d.).\n\nIn 2016, Lady Gaga and Beyonce added their names to the list of celebrities who added Fluevog to their wardrobes, propelling the brand to expand into Europe two years later. In 2018, a special edition original \u2018Munsters\u2019 were worn at New York Fashion Week which prompted American drag legend Sasha Velour to claim the brand as, \u201cone of the best pieces of design I have ever seen\u201d (\u201c50 Years\u2026\u201d n.d.).\n

Fluevog Tributes<\/h2>\nOver the years, Fluevog created tribute shoes to honour individuals who inspire:\u00a0 an entire collection - \u2018The Bilbio Family\u2019 - pays tribute to \u201cnotable and groundbreaking librarians of past and present\u201d (\u201cBiblio Hayden\u2026\u201dn.d.). Another collection, \u2018The Big Presence\u2019 line of shoes pays tribute to, \u201cbrave and daring women with bold and gallant designs\u201d (Big \u201cPresence Malala\u2026\u201dn.d.) including a shoe dedicated to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist, Malala Yousafzai.\n\nIn April 2020, when John Fluevog was asked why he thought a tribute shoe to Dr. Bonnie Henry - a public health officer - was a good fit for the brand he didn\u2019t hesitate to explain: to the shoemaker, Dr. Henry was an \u201coutstanding source of knowledge and reassurance\u201d (Yoshida-Butryn, 2020), and when it came to business he stated that Fluevog \u201calways like[s] to find ways to help and to highlight those who are doing good in our world\u201d (Yoshida-Butryn, 2020).\n

The Shoe that Broke the Internet<\/h2>\nIt wasn\u2019t just John Fluevog who noticed Dr. Henry\u2019s footwear during all those press briefings during the spring of 2020: Fluevogers and the media alike took notice. Soon, people were a buzz about Dr. Henry\u2019s health orders and fashion statements. Even \u2018non-Fluevogers\u2019 began to take notice.\n\nWorking with Dr. Henry herself, Fluevog designed a magenta and eggplant bi-coloured heel based on the company\u2019s \u2018Operettas\u2019 collection. With input from Dr. Henry, the shoe features patent leather accents, interlacing on the uppers and some of Dr. Henry\u2019s own wise words stamped onto the footsock, reminding us all to \u2018be kind, be calm and be safe\u2019. At Dr. Henry\u2019s request, 100% of the profits from the sale of the initial shoe launch supported Food Banks BC.\n\nBuilding on the success - and missteps - of the April launch, Fluevog announced 4 months later that it was launching two more Dr. Henry shoes - this time in black and blue, with 15% of sales going to the World Health Organization\u2019s Covid-19 Response Fund (\u201cDr. Henry Shoes Return\u2026\u201d, 2020).\n

When the Shoe Fits<\/h2>\nIt\u2019s not everyday that a Public Health Officer is asked to enter into a partnership with a fashion brand, let alone a (Canadian) icon of footwear. How did Dr. Henry react when asked about the tribute shoe? \u201cI think it\u2019s a wonderful thing and I\u2019m really appreciative of the work that John Fluevog does in the community. And, of course, he does make beautiful shoes, and it was an honour to partner with him to support a good cause.\u201d (Judd & Zussman, 2020)\n\nAnd while most Fluevogers would delight at the opportunity to lend their name to a small piece of the fashion universe, Dr. Henry\u2019s motivation was motivated to pursue a goal much more personal and important to her. \u201cWe know that it has been challenging for many people during this crisis to access food and food security has been even heightened for, particularly for people who were no longer employed or homeless or under housed. Being able to support the food banks is something that is very important to me\u201d (Judd & Zussman, 2020).\n\nIt would seem that Fluevog was \u201con brand\u201d all along: an unlikely collaboration for nontraditional consumers, during a truly unconventional time. Kindness, at a time when it\u2019s been most needed.\n\nBy Andrea Niosi and Pamela Ip<\/em>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Media Attribution<\/h3>\n