Havaianas Australia

Durable, comfortable and often brightly coloured, Havaianas’ rubber flip-flops were born, in 1962, as basic footwear for plantation workers in Brazil, inspired by Japanese zōri, the flat, straw-bottomed sandals traditionally worn by geishas. The name Havaianas (pronounced ah-vai-YAH-nas), Portuguese for Hawaiians, was a tribute to America’s glamorous holiday destination. The addictive nature of these flip flops is largely due to a 42-year old secret rubber formula, which makes them butter-soft, bouncy, flexible and durable. Havaianas became such a staple that they were added to the Brazilian government’s list of basic necessities used to calculate the cost of living, alongside rice and beans. By the late 1980s, parent company Alpargatas, Brazil's largest footwear company, was selling 100 million pairs of Havaianas…...