Cartoon Aesthetics Are Informing IRL Footwear

Adding to its recently instated footwear output, New York-based art collective, product design studio and serial pranksters Mschf announced its latest offering this month – a pair of oversized rubber boots inspired by those worn by Japanese manga and anime character Astro Boy that subsequently became a viral sensation.

However, having already been worn by a myriad of industry-spanning influencers since its announcement, the boot has essentially reached peak social media saturation before being released to the public on February 16 (retailing for $350). In essence, the boots feel like a physical product that serves the same purpose as a digital filter – which is to say that despite being made for real-life people, they’re still designed to exist almost exclusively online.

Regardless, it plays into an exciting visual trend that’s emerging across the fashion industry and is just the latest in a number of recent cartoonish product releases. Similar but less exaggerated silhouettes, including Bottega Veneta’s Puddle Boot (for which a TikTok search will return videos with a combined 237.4 million views) have proved popular, while other brands are taking a different approach.

Loewe’s Spring/Summer 2023 show featured inflated kitten heels reminiscent of those worn by classic Disney characters, such as Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck. With a glossy hyperreal finish and retrofuturistic silhouette, the balloon-like shoes have a hybrid phygital quality. The collection also included oversized T-shirts and hoodies made to look like the pixellated garments worn by video game avatars, emphasising the otherworldly, uncanny and fantastically escapist influence on the collection at large.

Other relevant – and equally viral – items include Naked Wolfe’s Sugar and Spice boots and Versace’s Medusa Aevitas platforms, both of which have been dubbed the real-life Bratz shoes by online fans and also play into fashion’s ongoing Y2K obsession.

As far as direct collaborations go, Japanese manga and anime series – like the aforementioned Astro Boy x Mschf project – are quickly becoming hot property. Jimmy Choo’s recent Sailor Moon capsule includes shoes and bags that are inspired by the outfits worn by each of the characters in the series, again bringing an exaggerated, cartoonish silhouette into the real world for consumers to incorporate into their daily lives. Footwear aside, Loewe’s ongoing string of collaborations with Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli is a key case study for how these partnerships can work across clothing and accessories.

Lastly – and without reference to specific cartoons or characters – there’s been a general uptick in these super-sleek exaggerated cartoonish shapes. Most notably, Prada recently rereleased a number of its popular bag and footwear silhouettes in puffy, inflated forms, tapping into this burgeoning trend in a creative and decidedly tactile way.

Not only is digital fashion continuing to take shape and gain commercial momentum, but consumers are also extremely conscious of the need to dress in a way that works for both the real world and social media. So expect to see more of this uncanny merging of the real and the unreal as attitudes continue to shift while maintaining an emphasis on texture and tactility when it comes to physical products.

Additionally, this trend speaks to the power of merchandise and suggests a huge appetite for physical companion products to fictional wardrobes, especially among younger consumers.