German sandals maker Birkenstock will debut on the New York stock exchange Wednesday with a valuation of $8.6 billion that belies its former dowdy image, with the brand now a fashion favorite and the pink footwear of choice for “Barbie.” Birkenstock has set its share price at $46, the firm said in a press release early Wednesday. A total of 32.26 million ordinary shares will be offered in its initial public offering, trading under the symbol BIRK. Birkenstock started life as an orthopedic shoemaker, but has since shed its unflattering association with sock-and-sandal-wearing Germans to become a fashion accessory, as illustrated in the latest Hollywood blockbuster “Barbie.” The stock flotation marks a new milestone, just two years after the Birkenstock heirs sold a majority stake to private equity group L Catterton and the family holding fund of French luxury magnate Bernard Arnault. “An IPO in New York signals global ambitions,” said Fernando Fastoso, who is a professor specializing in luxury brand management at Pforzheim University. “Since 2021, the company has been partially owned by a private equity firm backed by LVMH. Hence, it seems that Birkenstock wants to further develop its iconic status to target the growing market for luxury across the world,” he added. Birkenstock traces its roots back to 1774 and Johann Adam Birkenstock, who worked as a cobbler in Langen-Bergheim, a small community in western Germany. In 1896, Konrad Birkenstock began focusing on orthopedic footwear, developing comfortable, contoured insoles designed to cushion the feet. Brought to the United States in the 1960s, the sandals with their broad straps and cork and latex sole were quickly adopted by hippies who took to their no-frills comfort and claimed their utilitarian look as an anti-fashion badge. But when supermodel Kate Moss donned them for a fashion shoot in the 1990s, the sandals were propelled into standard footwear for A-listers. Brands from Paco Rabanne and Valentino to Celine have customized their versions of Birkenstocks, even putting them on runways. Actress Frances McDormand padded on stage at the Oscars in February 2019 in a yellow pair under a pink gown — vindicating the idea that footwear does not need to be painful to be glamorous. While they are now available in more colors, the sandals have largely stayed the same.