We’ve got a lot of questions about these Big Red Boots

If you have questions about the big red boots all over your feeds you’re not alone.

For one, they’re officially called Big Red Boots, and yes, they are real and available to buy. MSCHF, the art collective that created the Big Red Boots, was cheekily cryptic about its latest product, but here’s what we know.

What are the Big Red Boots?

The Big Red Boots are oversized cartoonish boots recently spotted on influencers and other fashion folk that have gone viral for their ridiculous look. Much like Crocs’ evolution from dorky dad shoes to an ironic fashion statement, the Big Red Boots are both trendy and a subversion of trends.

The short answer is that they’re big cartoony boots. The long answer is that they’re a critique of capitalist mass consumption and the impermanence of trends. More on that below.

Who is the creator behind the Big Red Boots?

The Big Red Boots are made by the art collective MSCHF. According to its website, MSCHF “subverts mass/popular culture and corporate operations and tools for critique and intervention.”

The collective was also behind the “Satan Shoe” collaboration with Lil Nas X, a.k.a. the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers that contained a drop of blood in the air bubble. Nike sued(Opens in a new tab) MSCHF for the unauthorized sale of its Nike Air Max 97 sneakers.

No word yet on how Boots(Opens in a new tab) from Dora the Explorer feels about his boots being copied.

Why is MSCHF selling Big Red Boots?

“The aesthetic Overton Window continues to stretch open towards the unreal,” said the description on the product page. In other words, this aesthetic reflects the increasingly merging worlds of virtual and reality. “The continued blending of virtual and IRL aesthetic has us chasing supernormal stimuli. When half the sneakers we see on social media are renderings, we come to expect a baseline of unreality. Big Red Boots are VR chat boots.”

Hopefully, that clears things up.