Sillybillycore: When Did Sneakers Get So Goofy?

Wavy Old Skools. Satanic Air Max. Big Red Boots. MSCHF’s efforts within the sneaker world are exaggerated, polarising, but more importantly - very, very viral. But what else would you expect from a venture capital-backed creative studio? Hailed for its creative yet controversial concepts, sneakers are just one of the brand's specialities (it's even hiring a footwear designer, if you fancy it) - but even though it’s not to be taken seriously, the company is still having a profound impact on the sneaker scene.

MSCHF has the sneaker and streetwear press in a headlock, and it seems to operate with an “all press is good press” mentality (when it’s not spitting odd crazy creations, it’s getting sued, but in the art world you get bonus points for notoriety). Both of these factors feed into the brand’s virality, and it seems that more and more often these days, brands are looking to follow suit. Here, we look at why sneakers have suddenly got so silly, why brands are so desperate to go viral, and whether it’s really worth it in the long run.

Anyone who follows a single sneaker account on social media will have come across MSCHF’s Big Red Boots. Over the past couple of days, the Astro Boy-inspired style swept our Instagram feeds, with the perfect mix of campaign imagery, reaction content and seeding causing a stir amongst sneakerheads and tastemakers everywhere. To some, the product is genius - those viewing them as an art piece for example, or the type of hypebeast that’ll only buy into viral products (we’re expecting to see them on some footballers very soon). Other people commented on how to style them - missing the point completely, while others just straight-up slated them. Either way, people were certainly talking.

Any brand, sneakers or otherwise, understands the obvious benefits of going viral on social media - and it's something that can be achieved in a myriad of ways. Just recently, Nike broke the internet with the announcement of its Tiffany collaboration, and for what was meant to be a dream collab, the reaction to the product was probably just as polarising as the Big Red Boots. With Nike x Tiffany, sneakerheads took to social media to share their opinions of the sneaker, calling the collaboration lazy, questioning its price point, and dragging the brands for being out of touch for not considering the connotations behind black Air Forces. It might not have been the response the Swoosh wanted, but it certainly got a lot of attention, and the shoe is still more than likely to sell out.

Of course, social media attention doesn’t have to be negative to drive sales - quite the opposite. Brands like UGG and New Balance have seen huge success due to their products going viral on TikTok, but for brands that are dead set on generating a lot of hype around a single product, a little notoriety seems to be the way to go.

MSCHF isn’t the only brand making goofy sneakers in hope of social shares right now. Take LOEWE’s most recent drop - the shoe was designed to look like it was covered in grass, and in fact, the style LOEWE sent down the runway had actually been grown from seeds. There’s no denying that it was a great fashion show moment, but did we need a version that was readily available? Arguably not.

And then you have Drake’s newest NOCTA silhouette, which is a literal scuba diving flipper. Where is Drake going with this? Are we flying out to islands and ‘getting gold, no spray tans’? Is the cast of Top Boy set to deep dive into the Thames? Talk about drip or drown, but this is one that ticks all the boxes of a marketing ploy. If you want to get even weirder, just take a look at Imran Potato’s latest Crocs collab - sure, Imran Potato has had its fair share of fun with bootleg garms and provocative products, but is a literal moulded foot a step too far?

That’s not all. Palace dropped a lightning-embroidered UGG collab. Some sneakerheads will remember that COMME des GARÇONS once released a heeled football boot. And of course, just last year, Kanye West made headlines when he stomped around in big black boots not too dissimilar to MSCHF’s. Even the Yeezy Foam Runner was ridiculed at first. Would we wear many of these? No, but insanity appears to be in, people.

As brands fight to increase their share in the ever-changing sneaker scene, these press-targeted moments are now more important than ever. Though they may seem gimmicky to some, they certainly serve a purpose when it comes to getting people talking. With so many new styles dropping every day, brands are desperately trying to cut through the noise, which is the reason why we’re starting to see so many questionable sneakers.

There are benefits to this, of course. Seeing people get excited over a new product makes a nice change to the constant stream of Dunks and Jordans we’ve been bombarded with over the past year. You could even make the argument that these creations are essential in order to push sneaker design forward, or even just able to encourage us to have a little fun with fashion. But really, could brands not just focus their efforts on creating better sneakers?

Instead, we’re not being sold products, but fleeting style moments. The lifespan of a meme is incredibly short, meaning that these gimmicks come with their own set of sustainability issues - you could buy them, post them, gain a few likes and shut them away in your wardrobe for a couple of years. Right now, the Big Red Boot is available on StockX for £1.3K. Cop it if you want, but that’s a big price to pay if you’re just looking to be in on the joke.

Want more sneaker content? Check out the all the collabs from Men's Fashion Week.