Designer Salehe Bembury Spots £10 Fake Crocs Pollex: His Reaction Is Pure Gold

It is the ultimate irony for any world-renowned creative: standing in a bustling marketplace, holding a product that defines your career, only to have a stranger try to sell you a counterfeit version of it for the price of a takeaway lunch.

This is the precise, surreal scenario that footwear designer Salehe Bembury found himself in recently while travelling through the Philippines.

Known for reshaping the sneaker landscape, Bembury stumbled upon a stall heavily stocked with unauthorised replicas of his own work, leading to an interaction that the internet has deemed absolute comedy gold.

The Moment The Creator Met The Imitator In Manila

The incident, captured on video and shared to social media, shows the former Versace Vice President of Sneakers and Men's Footwear browsing a crowded stall at a notorious knock-off market in the Philippines.

Bembury, wearing a blue graphic tee and his signature cap, picks up a beige clog that looks suspiciously similar to his groundbreaking design. With a mischievous look on his face, he turns to the shopkeeper and asks, 'Can you tell me about these?'

Completely unaware that he is speaking to the actual architect of the shoe, the shopkeeper proceeds to give him a sales pitch.

'We have another design,' the seller says earnestly, attempting to close the deal. When the topic of price arises, the staff member quotes him 700 Philippine Pesos, which converts to roughly £10 ($12.50).

This is a staggering drop from the resale prices the authentic pairs often command on platforms like StockX. Bembury maintains his composure throughout, inspecting the plastic ridges of the fake shoe while suppressing a laugh at the hilarity of the situation.

How The Pollex Clog Became A Streetwear Icon

To understand why this encounter is so amusing, one must look at the gravity of the shoe in question.

The Crocs Pollex Clog is not merely a rubber slip-on; it is arguably the most significant release in the history of the Colorado-based brand. Before Bembury, Crocs were often dismissed as strictly utilitarian garden wear.

Bembury, who cut his teeth at Yeezy and Versace, introduced the Pollex in 2021. He completely overhauled the classic silhouette, removing the traditional strap and replacing the smooth surface with a complex, concave, ridged pattern based on his own three fingerprints.

The collaboration bridged the gap between high fashion and comfort, causing immediate sell-outs and creating a frenzy in the sneaker community.

The shoe's massive success naturally birthed a thriving black market for replicas, culminating in this meta moment where the 'father' of the shoe was pitched his own 'child'.

Social Media Reacts To The Unknowing Shopkeeper's Pitch

The video quickly circulated among sneaker enthusiasts and Philippine streetwear pages, drawing hilarious reactions regarding the shopkeeper's oblivion.

On Instagram, user itssolegoodph captured the sentiment perfectly, commenting, 'Who's gonna tell them?! @salehebembury', tagging the designer directly. The irony of the creator inspecting the imitator was not lost on the community.

Another user, iamdennismerlin, summarised the interaction with the succinct comment, 'creator vs immitator'.

Even heavy hitters in the sneaker world weighed in, with collector djbigboycheng leaving a string of laughing emojis and red hearts, acknowledging the good-natured humour Bembury displayed.

Rather than becoming angry or litigious about the intellectual property theft, Bembury seemed to view the incident as a badge of honour—confirmation that his design has truly permeated global culture.