by It’s been a weird few years for high fashion footwear.
Granted, shoes have always been an area where designers got a little more creative — in 1930 Salvatore Ferragamo released a sky-high pair of platforms that appeared to be made out of rainbow play dough, the 2000s had Lady Gaga’s favorite Alien shoes, courtesy of Alexander McQueen, and we hadn’t even reached the peak of Crocs popularity before we got the Balenciaga heeled versions.
But as of 2020, it’s peaked with additional shoes as brands scramble to enrich TikTok and Instagram. Christian Cowan, the Central Saint Martins graduate rumored to be dating Sam Smith, is the latest to attempt a viral moment.
Cowan has announced a collaboration with Teletubbies, the ’90s children’s television show that was canceled in 2001. The collaboration includes a range of Teletubbies-themed garments: graphic t-shirts featuring images of models posing with Tinky Winky, denim jackets depicting a butt photoshoot on the back, a pair of denim jeans featuring Dipsy over the have legs
And the Piece de Resistance – a pair of £2,000 slime-green boots that end in a Teletubbies toy at calf height. Okay, you probably have some questions.
Is that surprising from Cowan? Incomplete. He recently worked with chips brand Doritos to forge a triangle-laced runway collection in support of Doritos’ sponsorship of Super Bowl 2023.
Speaking on the rationale behind the Teletubbies collection, Cowan wrote on Instagram, “When we were deciding what our next collaboration would be, we tossed around a lot of pop culture icons and then it occurred to us, let’s make THE icons.
“We treated Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po and Tinkey-Winkey like the legends they are, photographed in an Avedon-like style. These garments tell the story of our four iconic characters, who came to kick everyone’s necks and autograph these pieces for their devoted fans.”
So your next question is probably: who would pay £2,000 for Teletubbies boots? More people than you think. Before the Teletubbies boots, the most recent viral boot was MSCHF’s Big Red Boots, which took over Twitter, TikTok and Instagram just a few weeks ago.
They sold out almost immediately. Granted, they retailed at $350 (so roughly £287), not £2,000, but the boots are now listed on resale site StockX for between £1,082.00 and £1,375.00. Uff.
Cowan’s website crashed as soon as the Teletubbies collection went live – it seems more people are stealing these Teletubbies boots than one could reasonably expect.
