‘Big Red Boots’ turn trend-chasers into $350 cartoons: ‘Can’t take them off’
Make your footwear last a little longer with Big Red.
MSCHF — a product design studio on a mission to go viral with every launch — announced the upcoming release of a peculiar-looking pair of shoes, dubbed “Big Red Boots.”
The company describes the latest piece, made with a combination of polyurethane rubber and vinyl acetate, as “cartoon boots for a cool 3D world.”
However, many believe the shoes are directly inspired by the Japanese manga comic book series and its titular man character, Astro Boy.
“Bro I need them Astro boy boots 😂💯,” wrote one eager buyer in the comments section of a TikTok clip posted by Bowery Showroom, a New York City-based boutique that specializes in novelty designs and local artists.
“How y’all got the Astro boy boots alreadyyyyy?” rued one late shopper.
MSCHF has said they incorporated “cartoonishness” into the shoe design, so wearers could feel freed “from the constraints of reality.”
“You never design shoes to be shaped like feet. Big Red Boots are REALLY not shaped like feet, but they are EXTREMELY shaped like boots,” the meme-making company shared in a statement.
In the original TikTok video, now with over 2.9 million views, a Bowery Showroom customer who posts as @LILAP3 on the app appears to be stuck inside the oversized shoes, as friends were forced to drag him across the floor for several minutes until his feet were out.
Viewers came in hot with jokes about his unfortunate try-on experience — including the account for McDonald’s, writing, “Now u know how Ronald feels.”
Search engine Bing came to help with the comment: “Searches how to remove large red boot without removing foot.”
“REVERSE CINDERELLA,” one quipped in response to Bowery Showroom’s repost of @LILAP3’s hilarious clip.
“Once you put them on, you can never take them off,” another warned, just as one shopper claimed they’d suddenly lost interest in the shoes, fearing the same footless fate: “Oh my god nvm I dont want them LMAO.”
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The Big Red Boots will be released on Feb. 16, 2023 at 11 a.m. ET with a price tag of $350.00 on MSCHF.com. Due to high demand, those who miss the limited drop will be forced to fork over $1,500 on designer re-sale shop StockX.com.
MSCHF is known for producing bizarre and buzzworthy designs that have caused controversy in the past, such as their “Satan Shoes” collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X in 2021 — as a sequel to their Holy Water-blessed “Jesus Shoes” in 2019. The promotion promised 666 pairs of black and red sneakers that had been made with a drop of real human blood. The devilish shoes were marketed alongside demonic imagery and sold out immediately — until Nike sued the company for using their custom Air Max 97s in the design.
The company was sued again in 2022, this time by street shoemaker Vans. MSCHF’s “Wavy” sneaker collection with rapper Tyga was accused of ripping off Vans’ signature “Old Skool” design.
Living for the drama, the company has no plans to limit its creativity and contentious designs anytime soon.
“We’re not here to make the world a better place. We’re making light of how much everything sucks,” MSCHF’s CEO Gabriel Whaley told Insider in 2021.
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