Jimmy Fallon Announces Collaboration With MSCHF

Love them or hate them, Brooklyn-based art collective ‘MSCHF’ continue to create waves in the sneaker industry following their most recent collaboration announced by the US late-night television host himself, Jimmy Fallon.

Supposedly a ‘long term MSCHF friend’ according to the collective, the two have come together to release their fourth popular mind bending project of the year titled “MSCHF Gobstomper Jimmy Fallon Edition” - a fairly on-the-nose name, the shoe takes its inspiration from the Charlie and Chocolate factories infamous Gobstopper sweet. 

 

2022 has seen MSCHF do what they do best, garner huge media attention through controversial means, starting with their take on the Vans Old Skool alongside Tyga titled the ‘Wavy Baby’ which resulted in an incredibly public court case ensuing after the release in April. 

Swiftly after, last month, the collective returned with the ‘Totally Normal’ sneaker which was an obvious reimagination of the classic Nike Air Force 1, a sneaker that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Despite the obvious inspiration and arguable lack of differentiation from the original, the Swoosh seems to have not approached MSCHF with a lawsuit. At least that is the case at the time of writing suggesting the collective has maybe learnt their lesson following their altercation with Vans. 

Come the end of June, MSCHF went on to release what they simply called ‘Blur’, a stack of money that was designed to look as if it was real money with a blurred effect almost real enough to make you wonder whether it’s your mind playing tricks on you. A clever trick used by MSCHF to create more literal mischief in the market. 

To add to their footwear roster for 2022, MSCHF had revered sneakerhead Jimmy Fallon reveal that he had partnered with them to create the multilayered sneaker. On the surface, it looks like a regular skate shoe with an original silhouette (congrats MSCHF), with a simple tonal upper featuring a predominantly beige upper with darker brown detailing and hints of colour around the lining and on the tongue where the art collectives synonymous exclamation point logo is found. 

On the back of the shoe, the amputated foot that is also synonymous with MSCHF is found on the heel tab along with ‘MSCHF’ engraved into the back of a large platform-style midsole. 

However, it’s on the outsole where the sneaker begins to hint that all isn’t as it seems. Featuring a yellow and blue multilayered design with the foot in the middle, the outsole is like no other seen on a sneaker previously and brings into question whether this can be used for its designated purpose of skating or whether it simply is just an art project. 

We’ve seen tearaway uppers and chipping paint previously with the likes of the LA to Chicago SB Air Jordan 1 or the G-Dragon x Nike Air Force 1 '07 'Para-Noise', but the MSCHF x Jimmy Fallon ‘Gobstomper’ takes that to a new level. As the sneaker is worn over time, it slowly shows a range of multicoloured layers almost like a heat map. As each sneaker will be worn differently, the idea is that each pair will be completely original from the others.

The marketing for the sneaker shows an eclectic set of promotional imagery showing Fallon as a skater scuffing the sneakers to reveal the hidden layers as well as an image of the talk show host recreating the iconic Fat Joe sneaker lick from an episode of MTV Cribs in 2000.

The latest project from MSCHF showcases a completely original design and idea which could be the start of something exciting when it comes to creating works of art using footwear. 

For the latest on MSCHF, keep it Kick Game.