Havaianas, whose name is taken from “Hawaii”, first appeared in 1962 and quickly became a huge hit! Only a few years after being launched, most young and politicised São Paulo citizens wore havaianas as a hippie protest against the excesses of consumerism.
In 1990, the brand decided to expand throughout the world and its sandals are currently being sold in over 60 countries.
Colourful havaianas
Originally, havaianas only came in 2 colours; blue and white. But one day, a production error caused a batch of green havaianas to reach the market…. and these surprisingly became a big hit! After this event, the brand began to use more colours, patterns and decorations.
Since São Paulo is the home of these famous sandals, you can find them pretty much everywhere in the city, from big shopping malls to small stores and local markets.