Casablanca is expanding its design catalog to a new element of style: footwear. Though the Parisian fashion house has engaged in some limited collaborative drops in the footwear space, they have yet to take on an entirely in-house shoe design. As their first solo shoe offering, Casablanca has created the Atlantis, a shoe inspired by the magical underwater kingdom. Fluid in its structural motion and whimsical in its design, the Atlantis is a strong entrance from Casablanca into the shoe game. 

The Atlantis was designed in-house by Casablanca’s founder and creative director Charaf Tajer, as well as art director Steven Grimes. By keeping the design process in the family, the Atlantis certainly imbues those iconic Casablanca textures and ideals. Casablanca makes garments that are “shockingly beautiful,” simple on their face but intricate and detailed when looked at with a closer eye. The Atlantis embodies this creative spirit; it’ll surprise you with its splendor. 

The most apparent design choice within the Atlantis is the wavy sole, with a cloud-like build defining the bottom half of the shoe. The cloud sole is nothing new to the shoe market. Where Casablanca sets itself apart is the wave structure, creating an oceanic motion evocative of its design inspiration, the kingdom of Atlantis. This is then juxtaposed by a standard, perforated outer layer, reminiscent of those mass-marketed shoes we all know so well. This is another design theme for Casablanca, which is put on full display within the shoe: combine the natural with the artificial, the earthly with the mass-produced. 

As the brand’s first entirely independent entrance into the shoe market, the Atlantis is a strong showing for Casablanca. The shoe isn’t perfect, and it certainly isn’t the most cutting-edge drop of the season, but it’s an incredible start. More than anything, the success of the Atlantis comes with its coherence to the Casablanca design portfolio. It is incredibly difficult to make a shoe that represents not just a creative vision, but a brand. When you look at the Atlantis, you see a Casablanca shoe.