Look of the Week: with big red boots, fashion enters its “silly” era

Do you like cosplay? If you’re connected to the latest trends in luxury fashion, the answer might unintentionally be yes.

From the Minnie Mouse-like shoes from Loewe’s Spring-Summer 2023 collection (which already received Kylie Jenner’s stamp of approval) to Balenciaga’s Hummer Derby clown-style loafers, playful footwear seems to be all the rage. This week, another pair of shoes entered the circle: the Big Red Boot.

Revealed by the provocative New York art collective MSCHF – the same group responsible for Lil Nas X’s “satanic” sneakers and those overpriced “Birkinstocks” – the giant rubber boots are goofy, incredibly round and suspiciously similar to the ones worn by the character from Japanese manga Astro Boy.

“Cartoon boots for a cool 3D world,” read the MSCHF press release. “If you kick someone with these boots, they will BOING!”

The shoes, which go on sale Feb. 16 for $350, unsurprisingly caught the attention of the internet. On TikTok, a video styling the boots has already surpassed 3 million views and over half a million likes in 24 hours.

Potential buyers are showing up on social media. “How badly I need them NOW,” exclaimed one Instagram follower in the original MSCHF post. “These big red boots will be mine,” another posted on Twitter.

“A cartoon is an abstraction that frees us from the constraints of reality,” said the MSCHF.

After years of practical pandemic attire, fashion appears to be entering its “silly” era.

At the recent Grammy Awards, Harry Styles wore a stunning “clowncore” jumpsuit from emerging brand EgonLab. Ten days before that, Doja Cat sat front row at Viktor and Rolf’s Paris haute couture show (which featured upside-down, side-turning ball gowns removed from the models’ bodies) with a makeshift mustache. made from eyelash extensions. And during the menswear shows in Milan, British brand JW Anderson collaborated with rainboot brand Wellipets to create frog-faced pieces.

MSCHF often defies convention by performing stunts or releasing products that go vehemently against the grain. But in this case, the Big Red Boots collective is jumping on the bandwagon.

Top image: Model Sarah Snyder appeared in a series of campaign-style images for the launch of the boots.

Editor’s Note: Showcasing the good, the bad and the ugly, “Look of the Week” is a regular series dedicated to unveiling the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.