The Viral Red 'Cartoon Boots' From Mschf Aren't Going Out Of Style Anytime Soon
When something goes viral, it isn't always warranted (looking at you, bizarre celebrity health trends). But this time, the product is just strange and unique enough to arguably deserve all the attention not to mention the money everyone's been throwing at it. We're sure you've heard about the viral red "cartoon boots" that everyone is scrambling to get their hands on.
The chunky, rubber-looking boots do look as though they've just materialized out of an old-school anime like "Astro Boy" or even the cartoony world of Sonic the Hedgehog and friends. Mschf of Brooklyn, New York released the boots on February 16 priced at $350, causing what can only be described as a worldwide sensation.
Red, round, and standout, these boots have set social media ablaze as everyone rushed to get their hands on a pair. Although it's been weeks since the boots initially dropped, their popularity is still as high as ever if not higher.
People still want them even as the price crawls higher
Let's be real: The big red boots are an eensy, weensy bit ... How do we put this? Out there. Their bizarre design is very intentional, of course, and that's exactly why the shoes have caught the attention of so many people all over the world. But, usually, something that goes against the grain so much is only popular for a few days before it drops off the face of the earth. Plus, this isn't exactly the first time TikTok influencers have gone crazy over splurge-worthy shoes.
Declining in popularity has not been the case for Mschf's "Ronald McDonald" boots, however. These are the boots that cannot be stopped. Even stars like Lil Wayne have been spotted wearing them, and anyone who knows anything about celebrity culture realizes that these shoes have fully cemented themselves as a hot commodity.
After selling out through their official website, the Mschf boots are now only available through resellers and go for around $1,200 a pop. With as much notoriety as they've gained in just a few weeks, we foresee nostalgia fans and influencers buying them at an even higher price in the future.
Mschf knew they had something special with the boots
If you're looking at the pics and videos of these cartoony shoes and wondering what the big fuss is all about, you're not alone. As Mschf co-founder Daniel Greenberg acknowledged in an interview with Highsnobiety, they weren't envisioned to be practical or even comfortable. "The Big Red boot is a realization of a specific sort of cartoonish abstraction of a shoe," he explained.
Greenberg continued, "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." Weirdly, this seems to be what everyone loves about these shoes.
They may not make sense for everyday wear, though, as one customer discovered when trying the boots on in-store. A TikTok video shows him getting stuck and needing help being pulled out of them. One commenter even joked: "REVERSE CINDERELLA." As Greenberg reasoned, "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."