Brooklyn art collective MSCHF has caused another social media frenzy. This time they did it with a pair of sleek red rubber boots that look like they belong in Astro Boy’s closet. “Big Red Boots” was released on February 16, just in time for New York Fashion Week.
The art company shoes are talked about a lot on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. With a TPU shell, the boots are as soft yet durable as an iPhone case.
The art company boots cost $350 for a pair. Like most things from the band, they are likely to sell quickly.
The company MSCHF, whose name sounds like “mischief”, created “Jesus Shoes” in 2019. The shoes were modified Nike Air Max 97s with water from the Jordan River in Israel, which were blessed by a priest in Brooklyn and added to the sole. A golden crucifix was tied to the shoelaces. Each show cost $1,425 and all 24 pairs sold out in less than a minute.
A pair of large red boots were selling for over $1,700 on StockX, a marketplace for used luxury and streetwear, long before the art company boots were released.
Funky MSCHF sneakers often get the most attention online. But the group sees itself as an artistic practice, although it is rarely called that.
The art company shoes bring Mighty Atom into real life. Astro Boy was brought into the world in 1952. Over the years we have seen countless allusions to the Astro Boy character in footwear and fashion.
Two decades after Crocs eschewed leather, laces, and social norms, another EVA blend is catching the masses’ attention: Big Red Boots. The art company shoes from the provocateurs of the MSCHF team, most recently made famous by the Leaderboard (2022) ATM at Art Basel Miami Beach, which publicly displayed the bank accounts of everyone who dared to use it, exactly matches the description.
The MSCHF shoes are cartoon sized, tomato red in color and (somewhat) suitable for wearing on the feet. Since images of the boots were leaked on Feb. 7, they have gone viral on social media, with significant celebrity help. The internet wants to know which cartoon character the MSCHF is referring to. Astroboy? Papa Smurf? The monkey companion of Dora the Explorer Boot? In general, the answer may well be all of the above.
The MSCHF company emphasizes the influx of virtual aesthetics into real life. The art company boots were not designed with realism in mind, but to be quick to draw and instantly recognizable. Hence the MSCHF slogan “Cartoon boots for a 3D world”.
As the MSCHF hints, the norms – or the Overton Window as it’s known collectively – of the fashion world can move towards the unreal. After Harry Styles’ clown costume won a Grammy and Loewe released Minnie Mouse stilettos, some argue that fashion is entering an era of silliness. If so, MSCHF is ready for success.
