The big red boots & how we got here
New York Fashion Week has come and gone, but chances are you might not have realized based on what’s dominated social media feeds for the past week. Of course, that is the Big Red Boots from Mschf Studios.
Mschf is a Brooklyn-based design studio known for its ostentatious line of products ranging from a warped pair of Vans Old Skools dubbed the “Wavy Baby,” to their AC-1 shoes made to be a replica of a medical walking boot. Mschf is no stranger to being at the forefront of online discourse, with fans praising their innovation in a subculture that has become increasingly watered down with brands simply copying and pasting what they know is a safe bet to sell.
Their latest gag is a pair of bright red rubber boots aptly named “The Big Red Boot" made to replicate those worn by the titular character of Osamu Tezuka's 1963 cartoon Astro Boy. They’re a single mold design made completely of a thick yet lightweight rubber with the proportions we’ve come to recognize from a standard boot dialed up to the max.
In talking to Hypebeast, Mschf co-founder Daniel Greenberg claims “The Big Red boot is a realization of a specific sort of cartoonish abstraction of a shoe… an absurd, simplified form that conveys the idea of “BOOT” without worrying too much about the particulars of realism." In practice, Mschf hits all these marks. The blown-up puffy toe box and lack of hard sharp lines lend itself closer to something pulled from a TV screen rather than off the shelves at Saks. They seem to act as a natural progression in the category of oversized outrageous footwear that has become a mainstay in the luxury market.
In 2017, Balenciaga debuted their Triple S sneaker and was met with similar if not more backlash than the Big Red Boots. The difference between the two however is in their reason for creation, with Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga aiming to innovate and eventually spearhead the ongoing oversized shoe craze. What’s being done at Mschf is nothing more than design for the sake of Novetly. Their end goal for this form of “clickbait clothing” is purely one dimensional; The more celebrities, athletes, and influencers spotted in the boots the better as long as Mschf gets their viral moment in the headlines.
You might find yourself wondering “who cares?” but the growing popularity of a brand like Mschf is a slippery slope. A house such as Balenciaga uses its play on proportions to help the consumer question certain norms while simultaneously ushering in a new standard that can fit a wide range of wardrobes. Mschf on the other hand is solely concerned with creating an object more absurd than the next. Of course, there's a difference between an over-100-year-old luxury brand and a startup founded in 2016.
However, when the customers of both become the same it’s worth noting. We’ve reached peak maximalism in the current fashion climate with seemingly the only way to gain brand notoriety being to create some form of a polarizing product. As consumers, we have the power and duty to parse through these viral moments to hopefully push brands in the direction of true innovation, aimed to push design forward as opposed to grasping at yet another 15 minutes of fame.
