For someone who co-hosts a show called Fashion Police, Kelly Osbourne takes a fair amount of sartorial risks. Chief among which, according to Instagram, is her predilection for a certain pair of black and white rubber-soled lace-ups, better known as creepers.
For the uninitiated, creepers are a type of shoe with extremely chunky, platform-esque crepe soles, and have been the footwear of choice for the counterculture throughout history—especially in Osbourne’s native England.
Originally worn by soldiers in World War II, the shoe was quickly adopted by city dwellers after vets began wearing them out at night in London. (Fun fact: They’re called “creepers” because the rubber sole makes next to no sound on a hard floor, enabling the wearer to creep around as they please.)Like most vintage mainstays, creepers experienced a resurgence after being sold in secondhand shops in and around London and have a deep-rooted history in the punk and rock and roll culture. Now, with the ’90s grunge trend seemingly going nowhere, the shoes are all of a sudden relevant again—with Osbourne leading the charge, natch. The snarky Brit has been spotted on numerous occasions (cooking, traveling, airport lounging) rocking her T.U.K. creepers with 1 1/2 inch soles (above). The San Diego brand favored by pop stars the likes of Miley Cyrus and Carly Rae Jepsen specializes in bold designs inspired by old and new music legends. Says designer Diana Ansolabehere, “I love the menswear attitude and the old school punk vibe.” Ozzy would be proud.
Want Osbourne’s style? Nab T.U.K.’s black and white leather low sole creeper for $80 at tukshoes.com.