Crocs might not have been considered the trendiest of shoe, but the pandemic has led to a boom in sales and since then, it seems the shoe continues to sell.

Across the last three years, Crocs has seen a 90% increase in sales, reaching $5 billion. According to The New York Times, one of the key demographics buying Crocs are Gen Zers. The current sales and later projections may be here to stay, but fashion trends are notoriously fickle, so it’s difficult to predict.

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Some members of Gen Z have been proudly sporting the foam boat shoes and one research fellow thinks it’s because they grew up in an era of ugly fashion.

Emily Brayshaw said in The Conversation that Gen Z saw fashion moments like when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were decked out in all denim at the 2001 American Music Awards. She described this cultural moment and others as “ugly comfort fashion,” which she said is a main motivation behind why some Gen Zers are crazy about Crocs.

Crocs are known for their distinctive look. They are generally a monochromatic shoe with 13 holes on the top of the shoe. Some Crocs are lined with fuzzy faux fur to keep feet warmer and other Crocs have patterns all over them.

Crocs were founded in 2002 and throughout the years, they have had several cultural moments. In 2009, Salon headlined an article “Admit it — you used to wear Crocs.” The article talked about 2006, when Crocs seemed to be everywhere. It could be that 2023 will be another moment of the Crocs zeitgeist.