In addition to rolling out his second album USee4Yourself, IDK also recently announced his partnership with athletic wear giant Nike, tweeting, “Im officially apart of the Swoosh family” ahead of releasing the album’s third single, “Pradadabang” featuring Young Thug. Although the details of just what IDK — who is close with Kevin Durant, a longtime member of Nike’s stable of endorsed athletes — will do with the Swoosh remain out of reach, he did put the new partnership to good use recently, sharing the wealth with his community by handing out free pairs of signed Supreme Dunks in his neighborhood.
Don’t get us wrong, Jordan is still the biggest name in footwear. And when a hot new sneaker designer bursts onto the scene, best believe they’re going to want to put their spin on a fresh pair of Jordans above all else, so we don’t imagine another name is going to surpass it anytime soon. But big names are coming (relatively) close, and none of them are known for their skills on a court.
We’re talking not about performance shoes but “performer shoes” (a term dubbed by DJ Clark Kent) — made by people like Kanye West, who has now realized his dream of making a pivot from the hottest rapper in the game to the hottest sneaker and streetwear designer with his Yeezy Brand; Pharrel Williams, who has been toiling away at Adidas for a minute now with his Hu line; J Cole who seems to be constantly pumping out Pumas and actually has the hoops skills to bring in ballers; Bad Bunny, who — despite starting it all off with a few Crocs — is now two for two with his Adidas collaborations; and Beyonce, who continues to make tremendous leaps with each drop of her Ivy Park line.
It’s undeniable that, save for Virgil Abloh and Aleali May, the most exciting sneakers to drop right now are coming from the world of hip-hop. And no name is more exciting than La Flame — yes, we’re talking about Mr. Cactus Jack himself, Travis Scott. Together in partnership with Helmut Lang, Nike, and Jordan Brand, Scott has been dropping some of the most hyped sneaker releases of our modern era of streetwear, offering remixed designs of the aforementioned brand’s most popular silhouettes draped in Scott’s signature dusty desert aesthetic and vibe.
Over the last three years, Scott has dropped 14 sneakers and today we’re here to rank every single one of them from worst to best. Let’s dive in.
15. Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive
GOAT
Amongst fans of Scott’s sneaker collaborations, these are absolutely hated. It’s easy to see why. I mean… look at ’em!
Some people feel that hate is overkill, arguing that these are slept on but they still deserve their spot at the bottom of this list. It’s not simply that they’re bad — this army olive mesh upper and brown suede heel panel is a pretty solid design for the XXXIIIs and pretty emblematic of the looks to come — but it’s just so boring in comparison to everything else Scott has done with Nike.
It feels mean to place any Scott shoe dead last, but it’s hard to argue that this is better than any of the other shoes on this list.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan XXXIII Army Olive at GOAT.
14. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top
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Before Travis Scott started lending his aesthetic to classic Nike and Jordan silhouettes, he linked up with Italian designer Helmut Lang for a sleek all-black high-top and low-top sneaker. The Helmut Lang collaborations are soft of an anomaly in the lineage of Travis Scott sneakers, but looking at it does make us wonder what the Cactus Jack label would’ve looked like if it never linked up with Nike. Thank God it did!
Featuring a nylon upper with leather and velcro straps across the heel and upper, the Travis Scott x Helmut Lang was made in Italy and features graphic bull imagery on the tongue and Helmut Lang branding on the heel tab.
It’s… okay. Just that and nothing more. Definitely a step up from the XXXIII, though.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang Low Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
13. Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low
Nike
Originally, we ranked this one last. It’s a three-way collaboration that coincided with the release of the Playstation 5, which just felt like tacky branded overkill. But the more we look at the design — which is actually kind of dope and borrows from the OG Playstation’s look for its colorway — the more it grows on us. This one is certainly a grower.
We still don’t like the Sony branding on the heel (Playstation logo can stay) but we can’t sit here and pretend that the Jordan XXXIII is somehow better than this sail and light blue upper, with its charcoal grey reverse swoosh and embroidered branding.
Find the Travis Scott x Playstation Nike Dunk Low at StockX.
12. Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails
GOAT
You’ll notice that Scott has a definite preference for Nike’s more retro silhouettes, so the Air Max 270 Cactus Trails is unique in that this is one of the most futuristic-looking Cactus Jack sneakers released yet, thanks to the aerodynamic design of the 270. It’s ironic that it’s also the most artificially aged, with a yellowed midsole and a messy mix of textile, nubuck, and TPU Overlays over a dirty cream colorway.
It really earns its moniker “Cactus Trails,” this is a grimy, dusty mess of a design.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Max 270 React Cactus Trails at GOAT.
11. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White
StockX
Travis Scott’s long and fruitful collaboration with Nike begins with this take on the Air Force 1. Released in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the silhouette, this white canvas take on the AF-1 dropped at ComplexCon 2017 and featured interchangeable removable swooshes that were meant to evoke Scott’s trademark grill.
The laces have a Cactus Jack logo covering them and the whole thing sits atop a contrasting gum sole. It’s perhaps most notable for looking so different than the designs that would come to define Scott’s work with Nike.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low White at StockX.
10. Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top
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The High Top version of Scott’s Helmut Lang sneaker is a massive improvement over the low. This may be the last time this particular sneaker stays in the top 10 as Scott and Nike have a bunch of rumored releases planned for Holiday 2021. Enjoy your spot, Helmut Lang Highs!
Featuring the same nylon upper with leather paneling and straps as the low, the Helmut Lang high tops are super sleek, militaristic, and represent a Travis Scott era that feels like a distant memory. Not much to say about these that we haven’t said already with the low tops, this is just an all-around better design.
The Travis Scott x Helmut Lang High Top is currently unavailable on the aftermarket.
9. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
The Cactus Jack Air Force 1 has always had a Sean Wotherspoon vibe to us. We know what you’re thinking, “WHY BECAUSE IT HAS CORDUROY???” Yup, that’s exactly why. Do you really think this zipped corduroy lace shroud would exist without Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97, which dropped two years earlier? You’re tripping. Wotherspoon MADE corduroy.
The AF1 Cactus Jack features a graphic canvas upper, a brown swoosh on the outer, a black swoosh on the inner, and sits atop a gum outsole. It’s a dope design, but it’s just a little too busy. A comfortable mid-tier release by Scott.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Cactus Jack at GOAT.
8 . Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha
StockX
This low-top version of the Jordan I borrows the design of the more iconic high-top version with a mocha and black nubuck leather upper and that polarizing backward swoosh on the lateral side. The backward swoosh actually looks bigger here (it’s not) making the sneaker look unlike a Jordan I, that’s kind of cool. The medial side panel features Cactus Jack lining in university red, making another appearance on the tongue, with the Air Jordan Wings on the heel tab.
This is pleasant and middling. Perfectly functional but not going to make a huge scene.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro Low Mocha at GOAT.
7. Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail
GOAT
This Sail colorway of the Air Force 1 was Scott’s second release with Nike and built upon the all-white colorway that preceded it. The canvas upper and removable shiny swoosh is still here, but this Sail colorway just works so much better with the gum outsole and canvas construction. It feels like a true transitional sneaker between Scott’s first Nike drop to the more earthy and worn designs that would come to define the Cactus Jack aesthetic.
Find the Travis Scott Nike Air Force 1 Low Sail at GOAT.
6. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple (Friends and Family Release)
StockX
We considered not even including this sneaker, as it’s a close friend and family-only release and never had a retail release, but it’s just too clean to ignore. It’s also currently available at StockX, which means someone isn’t being a good friend (we wouldn’t have done you like that, Travis!). This moody Jordan IV features a suede upper in a deep purple with black accents and a grey lace cage.
It’s easily one of the best colorways we’ve ever seen of the Jordan IV period, it’s almost cruel this wasn’t released to the public. Scott has a few more friends and family colorways, but none reach this level of perfection, which makes the StockX sale sting even more.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Purple Suede at StockX.
5. Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack
GOAT
This is a totally personal take, but this pair brings up a lot of nostalgia for me. The bandana-inspired paisley overlays capture so much of the imagery of growing up in and around East LA. This sneaker looks like my childhood, filtered down into a shoe.
The SB Dunk Low Cactus Jack is significant because it’s Scott’s first skate sneaker, utilizing Nike’s ridiculously popular silhouette, dressing it in a tan leather base with plaid quarter panels, paisley overlays, and canvas that tears away to reveal an earthy camo pattern that kind of resembles Nike’s elephant print (but isn’t quite that).
The design is rounded out by thick rope laces, the whole thing really captures Scott’s Cactus Jack aesthetic — muted, yet psychedelic. Scott and Nike have a whole slate of Dunks that are supposed to drop in late 2021, we’ll see if they can match this take.
Find the Travis Scott Nike SB Dunk Low Premium QS at GOAT.
4. Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro Olive
StockX
Released at the end of 2019, the Jordan VI features an almost militaristic olive green nubuck and suede upper with a little stash snap pocket on the outer collar. At the time of release, it felt like this was the perfect music festival sneaker to hide your stash in. The idea of going to a concert still seems novel, and this is the second time we’re ranking Scott’s whole sneaker output. Another handful of Travis Scott sneakers will likely drop before we are able to see the rapper perform live again. That’s just sad.
Scott rocked this colorway at the Super Bowl 53 halftime show, leading to its coveted status amongst sneakerheads and Travis Scott fans alike. The design is rounded out by a glow-in-the-dark translucent outsole with sail and university red accent work. Scott has yet to drop something that tops this design since its debut release.
Are the little pockets and zippers stupid and gimmicky? Yes. But forced utility aside, the British Khaki Jordan 6, Scott’s first sneaker of 2021, is in every way an improvement over 2019’s Olive colorway, which it clearly builds off of. Featuring a suede and canvas upper dusted in a mix of British Khaki and Sail, it’s the Bright Crimson accents on the heel, tongue, and branding that really pull this design together.
On top of this earthy colorway, a glow-in-the-dark sole and heel tab adds a nice psychedelic edge to the look, while seamlessly blending in with the rest of the design, never dipping into gimmicky territory, despite you know, being glow in the dark.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 6 Retro British Khaki at GOAT.
2. Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack
StockX
There were several times I came close to ranking this as the number one pick, and while ultimately I contend that it’s probably (probably!) not the best Travis Scott sneaker out there, it is my personal favorite. This use of Nike’s university red and blue here is just beautiful, with its blue Durabuck leather upper and a red collar and insole. Inspired by the Houston Oilers, Scott’s hometown team, the Cactus Jack Jordan IV’s are rounded out by a core black lace cage and heel panel with university blue speckles, and feature Cactus Jack and Jumpman branding on the left and right heel respectively.
I’m already regretting not giving it the number one slot, but not enough to bump it up… yet.
Find the Travis Scott Jordan 4 Retro Cactus Jack at GOAT.
1. Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High Mocha
GOAT
It feels almost cliche to rank the Mocha Jordan I Retro High as Scott’s best, but this sneaker release has managed to become emblematic of Cactus Jack as a fashion entity now three years after its original release. The large over-sized backward swoosh looks very gimmicky by today’s standards (though we don’t know that it didn’t always) but that mix of mocha suede paneling again a sail leather upper with university red accents is still one of the silhouette’s best colorways.
Since this insanely popular drop, Nike has since borrowed this same exact color scheme for a stock Air Jordan I, which we actually prefer, since it doesn’t have the backward swoosh. But hey, that’s just us.
Find the at Travis Scott Jordan 1 Retro High at GOAT.
Every sneakerhead knows the struggle of auctioning for a pair of sneakers on the SNKRS app. It seems like you are never selected because the bots are on it the second the sneakers drop. Nike SNKRS understood our struggle and decided to give customers a second chance to get a pair of sold out dunks. […]
Rap star Lil Nas X‘s controversial Satan Shoes will never make it to true diehard fans’ feet. New reports claim sports apparel giant Nike has settled a lawsuit with the manufacturer responsible for putting out the “MONTERO”-inspired sneakers onto the market. Nike + Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes War Ends According to reports, Nike settled […]
Lil Nas X has been the talk of both the entertainment and style worlds for the past couple of weeks. He ruled the former as a result of his “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” single, one that left fans divided due to its depictions of hell in its music video. Despite this, the song debuted at No. 1 on the singles chart this past week.
As for the style world, his “Satan Shoes” collaboration with MSCHF, which was a customized Nike Air Max 97 pair, brought even more controversy for more than the pentagram and single drop of human blood that was featured on the sneaker. MSCHF also earned themselves a lawsuit from Nike based on trademark infringement and trademark dilution claims, among other accusations. Now, more than a week after Nike filed the lawsuit, both parties have come to an agreement on the matter according to Billboard.
Nike and MSCHF’s settlement reportedly doesn’t see either party losing or gaining anything significant. The terms of it require MSCHF to ask all consumers of the “Satan Shoes” — as well as the “Jesus Shoes” that the company released years ago — to voluntarily return the sneakers for a full refund. A statement from Nike also notes that any purchaser who experiences a “product issue, defect, or health concern” as a result of keeping either pair should not reach out to them, but rather MSCHF.
The full statement from Nike on the settlement can be read below.
On March 29th, Nike filed a lawsuit against MSCHF over its release of Satan Shoes, which used a Nike Air Max 97 as the base. MSCHF also previously released Jesus Shoes, which used a Nike Air Max 97 as the base. In both cases, MSCHF altered these shoes without Nike’s authorization. Nike had nothing to do with the Satan Shoes or the Jesus Shoes.
Today, April 8th, Nike and MSCHF have agreed to settle the lawsuit.
As part of the settlement, Nike has asked MSCHF, and MSCHF has agreed, to initiate a voluntary recall to buy back any Satan Shoes and Jesus Shoes for their original retail prices, in order to remove them from circulation.
If any purchasers were confused, or if they otherwise want to return their shoes, they may do so for a full refund. Purchasers who choose not to return their shoes and later encounter a product issue, defect, or health concern should contact MSCHF, not Nike.
The parties are pleased to put this dispute behind them.
Available now, a new NOCTA x Nike collection has been released on the NOCTA website and an even wider selection of items will be available on April 7, on Nike’s website. Established Canada native, Drake has been promoting the new collection on his Instagram, getting fans to cop a piece of this collection. The currently […]
When your brand is literally called MSCHF, it shouldn’t be a shocker that there’s a good dose of actual mischief embedded in the ethos. That’s exactly what the label behind Lil Nas X’s wildly viral Satan shoes promises to deliver with each of its bi-monthly drops. Note we didn’t say “bi-monthly sneaker drops” — because while the most famous MSCHF products are shoes, they’ve also launched tongue-in-cheek bath bombs, internet browser add-ons, AI-generated feet photos, and rubber chicken bongs, along with various other weird shit and ephemera.
The Satan shoes aren’t the brand’s first brush with viral fame, either. Launched in 2016 and based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (obvi), MSCHF is the same brand that brought you this year’s Birkinstocks — Birkenstock sandals made using the leather from real Birkin bags and those dope as hell all-white Nike Aix Max 97s filled with 60CCs of Holy Water sourced from the River Jordan back in 2019. So while it might feel like they’ve come out of nowhere, stunt marketing like this is very much their #brand.
Everything out of MSCHF comes wrapped in layers of nihilistic irony that attempts to reflect the absurdity of a world where people get hyped over things like Supreme stamped bricks and shrug off stuff like an attempted coup from a game-show-host-turned-President as just another Wednesday in the waning days of the American Empire. But by adopting the uber-capitalistic “bi-weekly drop” cadence of a modern streetwear company, MSCHF is very much part of the world they’re skewering. (The line between viral marketing and literal trolling gets very tough to see when you look at things like MSCHF’s ClickSwipe app, which swipes right on Tinder for you every time you click something with your mouse).
“Our perspective is everything is funny in a nihilistic sort of way,” MSCHF CEO Gabriel Whaley told Business Insider in an interview. “We’re not here to make the world a better place. We’re making light of how much everything sucks.”
If you take those words at face value, MSCHF feels a lot of the old Supreme — which gained legitimate clout via viral product drops. When the Supreme brick happened it was product-as-commentary, a release that reflected the absurdity of the hype machine surrounding the counterculture skatewear brand itself. The fact that people actually paid for it is what made the brick such an iconically dark moment in streetwear history.
These days, Supreme plays its relatively safe, favoring official collaborations over everything, though they’ll still drop a random accessory here and there. The gap in the “is this a real commentary on commerce or just commerce in disguise as commentary?” space that Supreme left behind has since been filled by MSCHF. And the relationship is a weirdly reciprocal one — with MSCHF’s ironic products hitting harder because we saw how well that model actually served Supreme.
Now bring all that context to bear on the Satan shoes — which a judge has just ordered the brand to stop selling. Note, that this isn’t an official collab. MSCHF calls them “art pieces” and that’s correct, though Nike is arguing that the general public isn’t sophisticated enough to know that this devil-themed footwear wasn’t actually made by Swoosh & Co., which also seems to be true. While sneaker customization isn’t illegal, when you’re selling 666 customized sneakers with blood in the air bubble and freaking out square Christian parents across the country, the brand whose shoe you’re using has every right to ask you to chill.
MSCHF will surely cease and desist and their next drop will be all the more anticipated because of this episode. Nike lawyers could squash them, but why would they? Their brand got a little badass-rebel energy from this dance and their PR machine will fight to correct misperceptions among their core suburban fanbase. Round and round we go.
Eventually, the two brands will probably collaborate for real. Again, Supreme laid down the playbook for this. In 2000 Supreme received a cease-and-desist from Louis Vuitton for lifting the brand’s signature monogram print. 17 years later the two brands announced their first of several official collaborations. Let’s hope it doesn’t take that long for MSCHF and Nike to make nice.
What you think of MSCHF’s actual products depends on your life stage and whether its model feels fresh or tired to you. Do you think blood in a shoe is bold? What about a bath bomb shaped like a toaster? Or an Instagram account that proudly proclaims “DO NOT FOLLOW US“? If that sounds corny or if you’re past it because it feels like a retread of Supreme, feel free to look away.
For the rest of us, MSCHF is infusing the world of streetwear and accessory drops with some conversation-starting fun, re-capturing the counter-culture energy of an industry that has become commercialized to the point of banality. Whether it’s capitalism masquerading as rebellion or rebellion masquerading as capitalism is impossible to say. But maybe that, too, is part of the point.
It was reported a couple days ago that Nike sued MSCHF Product Studio, which collaborated with Lil Nas X on the controversial “Satan shoes.” Now, it looks like that situation is swinging in Nike’s favor so far, as The Hollywood Reporter notes that a federal judge has ordered MSCHF to stop selling the custom Air Max 97 shoes. The shoes quickly sold out when initially put for sale, so it would seem Nike is trying to prevent those orders from being fulfilled.
Nike filed a trademark lawsuit against MSCHF earlier this week and followed up with a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Nike claims the shoes will dilute their brand and the company “submitted evidence that even sophisticated sneakerheads were confused.” A Nike attorney also noted, “We have submitted numerous evidence that some consumers are saying they will never buy Nike shoes ever again.”
In a letter to the judge, MSCHF’s attorneys argued that the limited edition shoes are “not typical sneakers, but rather individually-numbered works of art that were sold to collectors for $1,018 each,” and notes that confusion among the shoes’ customers isn’t likely “given the sophistication of purchasers.”
Naturally, Nas has handled the whole situation with his signature sense of humor.
Pop superstar Miley Cyrus is officially rocking with Lil Nas X. The popular crooner has blessed social media with a look at herself donning a pair of controversial “Satan Shoes” by the “MONTERO” hitmaker. Miley Cyrus Wears Lil Nas X’s Kicks Miley went to her Instagram page to show off the fresh-looking kicks. It’s also […]
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