Why massive shoes dey trend dis year

From cowboy boots and kitten heels to Mary Janes and court shoes, 2023 don announce di return of many established shoes to di runway.

But e also don see di rise of a new, more surprising one: di cartoonish oversized shoe.

Just like Bottega Veneta’s BV "puddle boot" (one chunky-sole rubber rain boot with a big, round toe wey first come out for 2020), and Kerwin Frost super-stuffed Adidas Superstars (dat na one 2021 collaboration wey dem pad di classic Superstar sneaker to appear clownishly large), e ginger di maximalist look for February of dis year when di US label and art collective MSCHF release dia attention-grabbing "big red boot".

E look like e jump out straight from di pages of 1990s Japanese manga series Astro Boy, di giant, pillarbox-red boots, wey cine out in TPU and EVA foam, at di same time dey nostalgic, futuristic, and utterly absurd; as MSCHF declare for dia press release, "If you kick someone with dis boots, dem go boing!"

Yet, despite di silliness and di suction issues – see di viral TikTok video wey one wearer bin dey stuck in dia BRBs – e no tay wen pipo begin as stars dey sport di unisex boots from Doja Cat and Lil Nas X to Iggy Azalea and Janelle Monáe.

Meanwhile, di launch of di spring/summer 2023 collections provide a more refined take on di cartoon-channelling shoe, from Prada proudly puffy nappa loafers to Loewe comic lacquered foam pumps (wey beike say bin dey inspired by Minnie Mouse oversized, slip-on high heels) to Proenza Schouler's pillowy Arc platform mules.

And, across men and womenswear alike, di craze no dey show any sign to slow down.

In August, like Balenciaga before dem, MSCHF join body wit Crocs to present di "big yellow boots"– one sunflower-yellow design on di BRB, with Crocs' trademark holes and heel strap – while Marni dey set to release dia "big foot 2.0" sneakers dis week for Paris fashion week, wey be a more exaggerated, and comic-book take on di Italian house 2018 platform trainer.

So, wetin our new interest in clompy, cartoonesque footwear dey signify?

"In one sense, e dey communicate a desire for non-conformity and personal expression, wey align with contemporary values of individuality and self-confidence," na so Dr Carolyn Mair, a cognitive psychologist and fashion business consultant, and author of The Psychology of Fashion, tell BBC Culture.

"And at di same time, e bring down more traditional ideals of beauty for novel, unconventional aesthetics."

Cultural historian Annebella Pollen agree. "E dey remind me of di shoes wey second-wave feminists design for di 1970s and 1980s," she tell BBC Culture.

"Dem bin view di trend for stiletto heels and pointy toes as a way to keep women in dia place, so dem produce dia own handmade, foot-shaped styles wey draw style from men's workwear boots, and bin dey very much anti-fashion."

Di UK shoemakers, wey include all-women's collectives like Green Shoes, Orchid Shoes and Made to Last, frequently advertise for feminist magazine Spare Rib, and bill sensible shoes as a form of resistance.

"Apart frok dat, dem make am quite decorative, using ribbons for laces, for instance, and bright-colour leathers like purple, pink and green," Pollen continues.

"Di shoes bin dey tough and practical, but e also make a big statement. Dem allow women to take up space, and give dem freedom of movement."

Go big or go home

In terms of functionality, Caroline Stevenson, programme director of cultural and historical studies at London College of Fashion, see similar relations in some of di oda historical types of di cartoon shoe, wit dia raised sole and protective padding.

"Perhaps di earliest link na di chopine," she tell BBC Culture, referring to one of di first types of di platform, wey some Venetian noblewomen wear between di late 15th and early 17th Century.

"Dem bin dey built for practicality originally, to protect di leg of di wearer from di streets, but e come become a fashionable item in dia own right, and e take on dis symbolic meaning about social position, becos dia height show di status of di wearer.

E bin dey very hard to waka in, though – some reach 20 inches high."

Even more important predecessor, for Stevenson opinion, na di 1990s reference say many of today oversized shoes appear to draw on: "di big, Spice Girls-style trainers, like di platform Buffalo boots," she tok.

"Dem be di representative of oppositional cultural politics and female empowerment, and dem get unisex appeal too. Dem also be di 90s rave culture – as dem get dis element of practicality for pipo wey bin dey stomp around a field till all hours of di morning."

Platform trainers demsefs dey inspired by 1970s platforms, Stevenson note, wey also dey designed for dancing – for standing up for long hours, while standing out during di glitz and glamour of di disco era.

And, in di case of di cartoon shoe, standing out na di point.

As Mair explain, "Our vision don evolve to allow us to automatically process, without attention, objects wey dey typical or representative of dia category, so we fit use our limited mental resources to pay attention to unusual objects wey [in an evolutionary sense] fit be a threat.

Di attention-grabbing aesthetics of today oversized shoes fit no appeal to evribodi, but dem go certainly make you to dey noticed and so, fit dey likely to project an adventurous and fun image."

In dis vein, e dey interesting to note di ways wey di absurd, maximalist nature of di cartoon-style shoe seem to correlate with a wider fashion movement: "clowncore", a circus-inspired aesthetic wey gain traction on TikTok in 2020, and since den don make way into high fashion – wit houses from Dior and Armani Privé to Chanel wey also embrace di trend.

"Di Spring 2023 Paris couture shows make many references to clowns and harlequins, tying into di clowncore movement," na so Stevenson tok.

"E dey about being playful and escapist, wey make sense becos we dey live through very confusing times, and fashion always try to make sense of confusing times."

And weda dem call to mind visions of clowns or cartoons, 90s robot boys or girl power-proclaiming pop stars, no doubt dey say di current craze for big, bulbous shoes taps into a pervading sense of nostalgia.

"Dem dey remind us of childhood memories, wey dey wake up a sense of familiarity and warmth, fun times: splashing in puddles and playing with friends in a carefree world," na so Mair observe.

As MSCHF put am, in reference to di Big Red Boot, "cartoonishness na abstraction wey free us from di limitations of reality" – and perhaps that na wetin we need most right now.