New footwear dubbed Astro Boy boots have gone viral on social media for their cartoonish appearance.
MSCHF, an American art collective known for their unique fashion statements, recently introduced their “Big Red Boots” on Instagram.
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Described as a “cartoonish abstraction of a shoe,” MSCHF co-founder Daniel Greenber spoke with Highsnobiety to reveal the inspiration behind their latest release.
In cartoon world, representation works with reduced information to immediately imply an object, rather literally depict it. The Big Red Boot works on a similar principle, where it is an absurd, simplified form that conveys the idea of “BOOT” without worrying too much about the particulars of realism.
The boots, which will become available on Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. EST for $350, quickly made rounds on multiple social media platforms for their cartoon-like resemblance.
Popular character wardrobe comparisons included Astro Boy, Boots from “Dora the Explorer,” Ronald McDonald and Pac-Man.
My TL with them damn red boots pic.twitter.com/DQRSkWG4Cm
— The Back Of Yo Coochie Stank (@NonchalantLyfe) February 8, 2023
this exactly how them big ass red astro boots look pic.twitter.com/VJ85YEuUxX
— yana . (@armanidioor) February 9, 2023
Already thinking of fits for my new red boots pic.twitter.com/WOPpgbb68g
— jonny ⛓🗡 (@jontacha) February 9, 2023
The official Pokemon Twitter account also joined in on the viral fun, tweeting photos of the fiery Mela and the Pokémon Armarouge from “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.”
Big. Red. Boots. 👢 pic.twitter.com/BQAZWlrgv9
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) February 8, 2023
The red statement piece has divided the internet.
Some expressed their clear distaste for the product:
Are those red boots some type of social experiment? Cuz it’s no way y’all being deadass right now
— Kira J (@IamKiraJ) February 9, 2023
y’all know them red boots ugly tf don’t piss me off
— niya (@_nniiyaaa) February 8, 2023
However, others fell in love with the boots:
maybe those red boots aint that bad pic.twitter.com/jk1yUveVba
— zay (@undrcvrzay) February 6, 2023
im defending those red boots with my life
— Ali (@AliEzzoBezzo) February 8, 2023
Prominent TikTok user Jaadiee (@jaadiee) posted an unboxing video of the viral shoes on Tuesday, reaching 8.3 million views and 1.2 million likes as of this writing.
@jaadiee Unboxing something crazy 👀🅱️ #unboxing #streetwear #fashion #mschf @mschf #bigredboot ♬ Major Distribution – Drake & 21 Savage
In response to fit requests, the grandpa went on to style a series of outfits with the red boots as a statement piece.
@jaadiee Replying to @Big T. Styling the Big Red Boot 🅱️🥵👴🏻 #gramps #bigredboot #mschf #streetwear #fashion #styling #outfit #astroboy ♬ HOTEL LOBBY (Unc & Phew) – Quavo & Takeoff
Regardless of how much the Big Red Boots might add to an outfit, some TikTok users have found that the nearly $400 shoes are nearly impossible to take off.
@offwhitehoodie Took us 30 minutes to save bro #fashiontiktok #mschf #bigredboots ♬ Super Mario Bros Main Theme – Geek Music
