EXCLUSIVE: BAPE's MSCHF Boots Are Real But They Can't Hurt You
Exhausted by the many iterations of MSCHF's Big Red Boot? Too bad! The enormous, Astro Boy-inspired rubber shoe is back in BAPE form, as the Japanese streetwear label arrived to Tokyo Fashion Week on August 31 with a camo-covered take on the inimitable MSCHF Boot.
Debuted during BAPE's Spring/Summer 2024 runway show, BAPE's MSCHF Boot is rich with the Japanese label's signature APE HEAD Camouflage. This is the first time that the MSCHF Boot has worn camo but, really, it's most notable as by far the most graphic MSCHF Boot thus far.
A representative for MSCHF provided first-look imagery to Highsnobiety and confirmed that the BAPE Boots are not an official collaboration.
Given MSCHF and BAPE's shared proclivity for team-ups, though, let's assume that the collaborative door remains wide open.
In the meantime, all we've got are MSCHF Boots enveloped in BAPE Camo, which certainly ain't nothing.
BAPE's SS24 fashion show was a sequel of sorts to its first runway show, held in New York earlier this year under the guise of being the 30th anniversary BAPE HEADS presentation.
BAPE SS24 was comparatively more focused, which makes sense: BAPE's New York show wrangled nearly a half-dozen different sub-labels, whereas this show showcased just one BAPE collection.
There was a vast spread of typical BAPE fare — printed hoodies, sporty track jackets, denim shorts — and the winged BAPE Camo hoodies returned from the BAPE HEADS show but the custom MSCHF Boots were the runway show's big takeaway.
MSCHF has been on a real tear with its Boots as of late.
The original Big Red Boot effectively broke the internet when it debuted back in February, inspiring a restock, new colorways, and even a Crocs collaboration that was immediately co-signed by K-Pol idols, Maluma, and Lil Durk.
BAPE is the first fashion label to not only grant MSCHF's Boots its approval but also remix the shoe to meet its own taste. In fact, BAPE is arguably the largest fashion label to partner with MSCHF at all, making this a pretty big win for the Brooklyn-based collective.
Plus, taking the immediate virality of MSCHF's Boots into consideration, it fits that they'd stick around for a while.
The shock factor has worn down over time but the novelty of seeing the Boots reformatted into fresh configurations lingers.
