They were long considered the ugly footwear of hippies and uncool dads – particularly when teamed with socks.
But Birkenstock sandals, on a high since being worn in the 2023 hit film Barbie, may soon be deemed an official work of art.
Judges in a German high court are deciding whether the orthopaedic leather footwear, with its cork ‘footbed’, is so distinctive it should be protected alongside the country’s other works of ‘literature, science and art’.
If they accept the sandals are of such a high status, this will prevent the production of cheap copies until the start of the next century.
Previous beneficiaries of official artistic status include the Porsche 356 sports car and Bahaus-designed tubular steel chairs.
The company, founded in the Rhineland by Johann Birkenstock in 1774, says that four of its designs in particular – the Arizona, the Gizeh thong, the mono-strap Madrid and the Boston clog – should be protected by copyright law.
Sales of £85-plus Arizonas rocketed after featuring in Barbie, with celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss wearing them.
Birkenstock sales were well over £1billion in 2023, the same year it floated on the US stock market with valuations exceeding £8billion.
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