BEHIND THE STITCH: ALANI
June 21, 2024
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Mowalola Ogunlesi is once again turning heads–this time in rubber. The London-based Nigerian designer has teamed up with Crocs for one of 2025’s most hotly anticipated fashion collaborations, and it’s anything but ordinary. Drawing direct inspiration from her bold “Graffiti Bomber” jacket released earlier this year, the Mowalola x Crocs collection fuses subversive streetwear with the ergonomic functionality of the world’s most recognizable clogs. With its debut teased across social media platforms and modeled by culture drivers like Lil Yachty, the collab is already generating buzz across fashion and music circles alike.
The Graffiti Bomber, a statement piece constructed from 100% nylon, helped set the tone for the collaboration. Its vivid, street-tag-style graphics and anarchic attitude serve as the DNA of the new footwear, which reimagines the Crocs silhouette through Mowalola’s fearless lens. Known for her punky futurism, Ogunlesi brings a graffiti-splattered, cyber-streetwear ethos to a shoe that has often defied expectations. Early visuals show a reinvention of the classic clog with bold colorways, radical patterns, and rich textures that nod to both rebellion and comfort, all with the Mowalola name sticking out boldly.
This isn’t Crocs’ first brush with high fashion–previous collaborations with the likes of Balenciaga and Salehe Bembury have proven that the brand thrives at the intersection of utility and hype. But Mowalola’s take feels more raw and personal. It bridges her own visual world–one built on distortion, disruption, and Afro-diasporic futurism–with Crocs’ reputation for comfort-first pragmatism. The result is a drop that doesn’t just speak to trends but actively bends them.
As of now, there’s no confirmed release date, but anticipation is building steadily. With teasers already lighting up Instagram and fashion insiders dubbing it a potential summer breakout, the Mowalola x Crocs collaboration looks set to make serious noise in both the footwear industry and streetwear scene. For fans of radical design and wearable protest, this union may just mark a new era in functional fashion.
