The Cartoon Look has Arrived
They are big; they are red; they are rubber, and they are downright bizarre. Littering our social media, streets, and online ads as of late are the big red boots in question. These boots launched on the MSCHF brand website in February of this year, and ever since they have sparked a debate of raving consumers combating confused critics. It is a design that has owners of the boots looking as if they just jumped out of Chris Pratt’s recent film, The Super Mario Bros Movie, and failed to blend in with the world around them. This cartoon fashion flare has gained attention with the overall simplistic question from the public of why?
Bulky. Bright. Baffling. These soles no doubt intrigue viewers upon first look, but is this fascination doused in reality by their impracticality? Coming in a croc-like material there is an array of assumptions to be made, beginning with the undeniable sweat factor. Youtuber Steve Natto received a pair attesting that “They're surprisingly comfortable.” A comfort received from their malleable and squishy interior: an interior covered by its thick and condensed rubber exterior; two halves bringing the whole of both pairs to a whopping three and a half pounds together! Following the bouncing around, wearers should be advised that the rubber blob of material can provide an arm workout to take off, as seen in several comical TikToks of the boots being a struggle to separate from the wearer. Surpassing all of the other elements of the big red boots, there is a great miscalculation in the production of these cartoon-based shoes. And that is the missed opportunity of not making them squeak as if Spongebob himself had stepped onto the block. A laughable factor that, if implemented, would influence me into adding the $350 pair to my Christmas list ASAP. As seen by their undeniable presence, practicality is not a feature of the big red boots. In fact, their impracticality gives a heads-up when viewing future horror feature films…the girl wearing the big red boots is absolutely, positively, and certainly going down first. She will look stylish, but outrunning a Ghostface villain in these boots and proving to be successful is an impossibility, speaking plainly. These boots are a beacon for attention, yet that almost proves to be their selling point.
Rebellious. Abstract. Divergent. The MSCHF brand is no stranger to stirring the pot of cultural expectations considering fashion. Standing for “miscellaneous mischief,” the brand labels itself as an art and media company with the goal of obtaining the shock factor. You read that right. This is not simply a company striving to obtain dollars for its wacky designs: there is a deeper meaning behind these debate-causing products. Beginning in 2016, the brand was off to a good start with its founder, George Whaley, who was familiar with the effects that media ‘noise’ created. Inspired by his previous internet ‘experiment’ when selling a bad piece of advice on the Twitter platform for one dollar proved to gain viral-level attention, he knew that there were more observations to be made of consumer actions. Since then his company has achieved its desired controversy with performance-based product releases such as Birkin bags cut up and incorporated into their “Birkenstocks,” wear away colored panels on their “Gobstompers,” an ironic twist to the fear of scuffs on sneakers, and a foot injury boot styled pair of shoes to truly get the people questioning what is actually going on in these workshop rooms of MSCHF. With their mocking and adjusting of many popular styles, there is a continuous legal danger, but they do not shy away from continuing with the ruses. While walking the line of infamy, there is bound to be a misstep, and that misstep was taken by the brand in 2021. In a Nike Air Max 97-based design, Lil Nas X partnered with MSCHF in creating the “Satan Shoes.” The release justifiably provoked outrage at its disrespectful elements, consequently ending in a lawsuit from Nike for their forced attachment to the ill-advised creation. MSCHF claimed the miscalculation was in the name of symbolic art and rebounded from the drama with further unconventional products since. Overall, MSCHF is fascinated with the consequences and kind of uproar they can influence. Accompanying the physical art of designing, there is an art of social behavior that they are striving to create as well.
With this angle of grabbing the public’s attention, the confusion surrounding the big red boots has faded. A limited edition "Cartoon boot for a Cool 3D World," allowing individuals to walk a day in Astro Boy or Papa Smurf’s shoes. Shoes that you feel extra, amusing, and ridiculously stylish in while strutting down in whatever possible outfit you could get these to work with. Gaining more traction than their past creations, MSCHF has made a large splash in the fashion world with these big red boots. They have opened the conversation as to how a camp fashion era could add the electrifying excitement of fashion individuality that has been dampened by mass consumer microtrends. So, why not embrace the cartoon look? Take one from MSCHF and give onlookers something to talk about.
Written by Logan Hansen, Design: Alli Powell , Social Media: Sara Hartung