They’re Turning Us Into Polly Pocket People and, Honestly, I’m Here for It
I’m not exactly sure when it started.
All I remember is that while I was scrolling through the Twitterverse one day, and I saw a pair of huge red boots that weregiving extra, giving ‘in your face’ and, honestly, giving cunt.
The culprit? MSCHF.
MSCHF released a pair of ‘Astro Boy Boots’ a few weeks ago and the reception was mixed. Some people think they’re a social experiment to test what people would buy if given the right marketing. This group is mostly made up of millennials. On the other hand, some think the boots are edgy, eye-catching and maximalist. Of course, it's Gen Z.
The Brooklyn-based brand is an art collective that produces a wide range of artworks, browser plugins, sneakers, and much more. Since the debut of their big red boots, they’ve been as much a phenomenon as they are a plague.
While maximalist king Wisdom Kaye is rocking the boots with intergalactic themed outfits, others have missed the mark quite a bit. Even Coi Leray has hopped on the bandwagon while Keke Palmer is with the nay-sayers and would rather pass.
While attention looms on the brand, they’re not the only ones bringing 2D inspired outfits to the real world. MSCHF designer Jordan Zwang, told Fashionista he suspected the interest in this style of clothes is born from nostalgia for cartoons like Astro Boy and Dora the Explorer. The public’s sole attention on MSCHF rather than other similarly disruptive brands like Loewe could purely be the results of strategic marketing when the latter has been tormenting boomers with their hyper-cartoonish inspired looks for a while now.
From the 8-bit hoodies, to the Minnie Mouse shoes, Loewe has made couture cartoon-themed since the debut of their SS23 line. Their newest 2D addition for their RTW line is giving Polly Pocket with straight silhouettes and simple colors right off the runway.
Photo: Loewe FW23
Photo: Loewe FW23
It seems that as tech girls and bros are attempting to take us into the metaverse, the fashion industry has a different idea to bring the metaverse into 4D. Apart from clothes, a new makeup trend has also come up to support the agenda. Late last year, TikTok creator Avonna Sunshine created the ‘cartoon lip’. The look makes use of black lip liner and red matte lipstick as a base. White liner is then used to add cartoon-like accents on the lip and it’s completed with the application of clear lip gloss for that comic book look.
With the rise of cartoon clothes and cartoon makeup, some may think that we’re being turned into real life Polly Pocket people. Not only do I agree, I’m here for it. The Astro Boy Boots are a phenomenon much bigger than you’d expect in this context. They represent change and a shift in the fashion norms.
This new fashion trend is a breath of fresh air. For decades, fashion has been stifled with the Zara basics and beige trousers for the minimalist millennial. We need more edge, more disruption, more haute couture. High fashion isn’t meant to be practical, its art for grand and elevated looks and events.
Not to mention, with the ever evolving nature of fashion, cartoon inspired style will be so in, it’ll be the new normal in a couple of months. Let’s not forget how girls were bullied on Twitter because people thought Filas are too chunky, just for the age of high sneakers and boots to take over. And remember when Massie from The Clique dissed Crocs? Yeah, exactly.
Making couture cartoon-like is exactly the 2023 spin we needed to take it up a notch.
So, just like Wisdom, I LOVE the Astro Boy Boots!
