Kanye West’s latest choice of footwear is impeccably, unfathomably chic. Beloved of an elderly lady on an all-inclusive cruise, or perhaps a Love Island-er at home, the rapper wore a spangled pair of flip flops to Burberry’s rescheduled SS23 show today, its straps adorned in chunky square-cut diamantés. Though they seemed to have been inhabited by the ghost of Per Una past, the shoes were in fact fresh off Riccardo Tisci’s runway (maybe), where feet seemed to be the modus operandi – all lengthy toes hooked over sliders and poking out from monogrammed hosiery. 

No stranger to beserk styling – lest we forget the too-small sliders he wore to to 2 Chainz’ wedding in 2018, all the silicone face masks of 2021, and the Barnsley cap of 2022 – West looked like a child hurriedly slipping into his mother’s shoes to take out the bins, the anchor creating an accidental Tabi out of his black socks. On closer inspection, the shoes also appear to have some sort of speed bumper attached onto the heel, which is very cool. Having just shuttered his collaboration with GAP and Balenciaga – and brought his DONDA era to a close – it almost seemed as though all the divorced dad performance art was on its way out, too. That is until he posted “LONDON I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL… I LOST MY QUEEN TOO,” on his Instagram stories. 

Look at this image. 

The beard. The hood. The leather jacket pulled to an uncomfortable close. The eyebags imprinted onto the visage. The arms magnetised to his side. The bedazzled flip flops an absolute embodiment of the word “zhuzh”. This is an image of a man who is simultaneously on the edge of self-annihilation and at the zenith of style. Which is perhaps the only way to dress. Is this the latest chapter in YEEZY’s ongoing footwear saga? Will we see hypebeasts piling into their local Marks & Spencers for a gorgeous pair of summer sandals? Will fashion publications rush to deign 2022 the year of HRT couture? What are those?! Those are his toes.