Text / Yang Yumeng
Edited by Li Luyuan
Under the invasion of the cold wave, not only the north was covered with snow, but even the south of the Yangtze River was also clothed in silver.
But behind people's excitement about snow, the anti-slip and warm performance of shoes has also become the focus of everyone's travel considerations. After a heavy snowfall, the fashionable and high-end UGG and the "ugly" affordable Decathlon were unexpectedly in the same frame and became the protagonists of everyone's discussion.
The "assassin" of the snow queen appeared, and UGG became the target of everyone
As the snow was trampled to form ice, migrant workers began to feel the biggest danger of winter – slippery feet.
In order to let friends who have never seen snow understand the hidden crisis after the snow, some people even summarized the safety level of the ground after the snow.
The city after the snow has become a "sole anti-slip test site", and the anti-slip and cold-resistant ability of various shoes has been revealed by netizens.
On Xiaohongshu, there are endless complaints about the non-slip shoes on snowy days, not only flat sneakers have become the "culprit", but even the Martin boots and rhubarb boots, which have been recommended by everyone to be the universal artifact of the four seasons, cannot escape the fate of criticism.
Swipe left and right to see more netizens complaining
And the most unexpected thing is that the suede snow boots led by UGG and specially made for winter have become the target of public criticism in a condemnation.
Originating in Australia, UGG snow boots were originally designed to quickly absorb water and keep warm after surfing, but they were hyped up by a number of fashion stars as a sought-after item with the former name of "ugly boots". According to the financial report released by UGG's parent company, Deckers, UGG's net sales in fiscal 2022 exceeded $1.9 billion.
This year, UGG has reached a new height on social media platforms - supermodel Bella Hadid stepped on UGG's new thick-soled low-top snow boots and went out on the street, which completely detonated the Internet. Countless UGG manufacturers of the same style of snow boots struck while the iron was hot, and created a new sales high in the past Double 11 and Double 12 shopping festivals.
Bella Hadid上脚UGG出街 图源：graziadaily
Netizens who followed the trend and bought finally waited for the cold wind and heavy snow, and couldn't wait to put on the snow boots that sounded the most suitable, thinking about going out beautifully and warmly, but in the practice of the past few days, they sadly found that the pair of Internet celebrity snow boots bought back for about 1,000 yuan on their feet were neither waterproof nor non-slip.
In short, completely unsuitable for snow.
Angry netizens rushed to question the snow boot customer service, why can't "snow" boots step on the snow? But the customer service who had been prepared for a long time released an announcement on the details page, which clearly stated: avoid damage from rain.
Source: UGG Tmall product detail page
In fact, UGG has also launched a waterproof and non-slip style, but under normal circumstances, ordinary people who don't encounter snow a few times a year can't imagine that there is a ridiculous thing in the world that "snow boots can't be worn in the snow".
Even though enthusiastic netizens thoughtfully gave Amway the "waterproof spray" of snow boots, as well as snow boot care strategies and wearing guides, these heavy snowfalls have caused UGG's reputation to plummet, and a group of victims vented their anger on social media about the unworthy snow boots.
Decathlon snow boots are out of stock, becoming a "life-saving artifact" in winter
The unworthy name of snow boots such as UGG has chilled the hearts of countless consumers, but it has also sparked a discussion about what shoes to wear on a snowy day to keep warm and save their lives.
As we all know, regarding winter equipment, the recognized authority on the Internet is the residents of the three eastern provinces, of which Heilongjiang is the first, and the status of IP in Sanya is the lowest. We have noticed that answering questions on social media about the equipment of friends from the south who travel to the Northeast has become a new fun for this group of "authorities".
Speaking of what to wear on a snowy day - under the recommendation of Northeast netizens, Decathlon has once again become a "conspicuous bag".
Along with the answer, I went to the online store to search and found that one of the Decathlon snow boots white model priced at 199 was completely out of stock, and then the snow boots priced at 299 were also sold out one after another, and even Decathlon's snow boots were born as a result.
Many netizens shared their wearing experience, and the evaluations were almost all "god shoes", which were on the snow mountain and under the ice, non-slip and warm, except for the hard soles but the insoles could be cushioned, the price of hundreds of yuan was almost cost-effective, whether it was for commuting or traveling to the Northeast, it was a must-have item.
In fact, it is not the first time that Decathlon's single product has exploded. This summer, Decathlon broke into the female user group with the item of hakama, allowing everyone to see the richness of its product categories.
Perhaps in the impression of most people, Decathlon is still the "big paradise" that is affordable, entry-level and fun, but in fact, it is a real professional outdoor sports brand. The explosion of snow boots this time actually reflects Decathlon's professionalism as an outdoor brand on the other hand.
图源：aura vision
In this footwear turmoil after the snow, UGG and Decathlon have become the poles between fashion and practicality, UGG and Decathlon have played different roles, and also triggered consumers' deep thinking about footwear performance. Perhaps whether it is fashionable or not, the practicality of the shoe is the most important thing.
After all, in a white world of minus ten degrees, it is still "important to save your life".
头图来源：ET today