Fashion currently loves a bizarre shoe. These past few seasons the most-discussed footwear hasn’t been a sleek boot or elegant designer heel. The new crop of It shoes is decidedly more weird—and a good way! Alaïa’s mesh flats—a shoe that puts one’s feet on full display, toes and all—were the breakout accessory of the summer. Last year Mschf’s big rubbery red boots also took over fashion month, rendering everyone on the street style scene as if they stepped out of a cartoon. The sartorial consensus seems to be that shoes are here for play; they should be a bold addition to a look rather than a discreet finishing touch. And simply nobody is doing this idea better than Rick Owens: For his fall 2024 menswear collection, fashion’s dark prince showed one of the most avant-garde boots of the season.
Debuting back in January, Owens’s fall collection included his usual assortment of masterful leather coats and sculptural knits. It was, however, his inflatable rubber boots that completely stole the show. Ballooning out below the knee, the futuristic, air-filled shoes lent a theatrical spirit to all the looks. The wonderfully wacky styles were made in collaboration with Straytukay, a 21-year-old artist based out of London, and produced in a variety of colors, including black, stone, red, and hunter green.
I was immediately obsessed with the voluminous boots when I saw them—not only because they lent a sense of drama that all fashion shows should have but also because I loved the complete dedication they required from the wearer. In addition to physically having to blow them up (the samples arrived at my desk last week with a manual pump and specific instructions), they take up space once they’re on the body, causing you to walk in a more measured, intentional way. The boots make you work for them. To me it’s a fun concept. These days fashion is so much about ease and comfort; the stealth-wealth trend is just a lazy excuse to wear cozy cashmere in black or navy. But these boots remind you that fashion is fun! If they could talk, they’d say, “Don’t be afraid to try new things.” Experiment! Be wild.
With the curious boots in my possession, I wanted to get a sense of what it’s actually like to spend a day in them. But why subject myself to such a fashion experiment when I can enlist a real pro? Enter Alex Consani.
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As a rising supermodel who’s walked for Thom Browne, Versace, Marc Jacobs, and countless others, Consani is no stranger to rocking death-defying shoes on the runway. So when Vogue stumbled upon Consani in the office one fateful afternoon, we couldn’t resist asking the model to try the boots out. “Sure,” she said, slipping into them without hesitation. “Gimme the boots!”
What ensued was a viral TikTok in which the inflated boots were put on Consani, who then proceeded to strut around the Vogue offices and disrupt important meetings—turning heads at every corner, the squeaking of the rubber boots catching the interest of many coworkers. “That’s the sound of realness, baby,” Consani said as the rubber rubbed against itself.
A few more struts up and down the Vogue halls—call HR!—and Consani came back with her verdict on the extravagant footwear. “When they say ‘boots down,’ this is what they mean,” she said. Clearly, they’re model approved—and internet approved too. Consani fans are still going wild over the content. “She ate, I fear,” wrote one TikTok user. “Alex was the perfect person for this,” wrote another. We couldn’t agree more. Slay the boots down, Houston—we are deceased.
Below, watch Consani slip into the Ricks.
