Andre Leon Talley just made Uggs cool

Andre Leon Talley is the new face of Uggs, crystallizing the comfy shearling footwear brand as back on trend for 2021.

When it comes to polarising fashion, nothing trumps Uggs. But during the pandemic something extraordinary has happened and sales of the 90s fashion eyesore have risen exponentially, bringing its net sales for 2020 to a staggering $415 million. 

The haters point to the fact that they're slippers and best left to fashion folklore like pashminas and Paris Hilton's velour joggers. The lovers in the house claim the appeal of the brand's Classic Ultra Mini Boots is that they embody the type of chilled Cali state of mind we should all be embracing right now.

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Ugg Boots Classic Mini II Boot, $150 Nordstom [£145, Office]

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Uggs may have had their heyday in the ’00s, but their history dates back to ’70s California, when an Australian surfer created boots from his favourite sheepskin. And it seems they are enjoying a renaissance.

It's one thing to shout down the naysayers. Its quite another to lend your face and name to the cause. And yet that's exactly what Andre Leon Talley, famed fashion editor and author of The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir, has done.

Talley is the latest star of Ugg's ongoing FEEL campaign series, which focuses on the inspiring stories of icons from various industries. The move may have raised some well-groomed brows, but cast your minds back and Talley was renowned for pairing high fashion looks with Ugg boots while sitting front row at fashion week.

In the campaign, Talley poses in the Ugg Neumel boot in one photo, and the Tasman slippers in another.

And Talley isn't the only one to have caught the Ugg bug. At the end of 2020, celebs like Emrata and Irina Shayk were spotted stepping out in them, while Sienna Miller has always remained a loyal fan.

Now that 'sadwear' is the new comfy, feel-good fashion trend, perhaps revisiting the Ugg boot isn't as wild as you might think.