already141, MSCHF Chief Creative Officer Lukas Bentel was walking down Princes Street in New York City when someone’s shoes caught his eye—especially someone’s medical boots, which appeared to be for one foot fracture. “I think it’s the most interesting design object I’ve ever seen,” said Bentel, adding that he was struck by the look of its function over fashion. “It’s fun to think about objects that aren’t designed for aesthetics; they’re so undesigned that in a way, they end up looking really interesting and being there.”
Plastic Aircast boots caught the Bentel and MSCHF teams so much that in October , the art collective slash fashion brand has now released an entire pair of shoes inspired by it. (You may recall MSCHF’s previous efforts, including last year’s Satan shoes with Lil Nas X, which had a drop of blood on the sole). The retail price of the AC.1 boots is $42 and has the same bulb profile you see in your doctor’s office.
“We’re trying to lift an object that wouldn’t otherwise be lifted this way,” Bentel said. The boots will be available in stores including End, Slam Jam and Shelflife – the first time MSCHF has sold the product in a brick-and-mortar retail store. “Being able to walk into a store and feel it’s an experience you can’t get just by looking at the photos on the website,” said Daniel Greenberg, chief revenue officer at MSCHF.
