Shoppers believe they just might have found ‘the world’s most controversial boots,’ thanks to a pricey designer Rick Owens pair that has to be inflated before wearing.
Fashion fans were alarmed by the pricey footwear, as the Inflatable Porterville Boots cost a whopping $5,000.
Owens first debuted the funky footwear during his fall 2024/winter 2025 collection with artist Straytukay and now they’re back on the market with influencers showing off just how bonkers they look off the runway.
Fashion influencer Kristy Sarah Scott donned the contentious footwear, which include a five-inch wedge heel, showing her 7.6 million Instagram followers how they must be fully inflated for the full effect.
While some owners choose to blow up the boots on their own, they do come with an air pumping device to avoid getting out of breath in the name of fashion.
Although the batty balloon boots have a mind boggling price tag, they’re not actually meant for daily wear – and cannot be found on the Rick Owens website, which does display models strutting down the runway in their own pairs.
The shoes are said to be meant ‘for display or for use in special occasions and they are not suitable for everyday.’
Influencer Kristy Sarah, 29, quickly went viral on Instagram when she showed off her own pair of balloon boots with a matching coat, asking her fans, ‘Is this too much?’
Shoppers believe they just might have found ‘the world’s most controversial boots,’ thanks to a pricey designer Rick Owens pair that has to be inflated before wearing
Fashion fans were alarmed by the pricey footwear, as the Inflatable Porterville Boots cost a whopping $5,000
‘It’s a whole vibe. It’s definitely giving runway,’ she announced.
Kristy then slipped into what looked like a full body inflatable suit thanks to a funky matching puffer jacket.
‘This is what I’d wear if I don’t want anyone touching me,’ the influencer, who runs a popular couples page with her husband Desmond Scott, explained.
‘Why are my tires already deflating?’ the content creator asked in her caption.
While she adored the fashion statement, her followers were quick to point out that they could make a similar boot at home for far less money.
Many compared her to Missy Elliot’s trash bag-inspired ensemble in her music video for The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) and a Powerpuff Girls villain.
Not everyone despised the divisive shoes, with one woman gushing, ‘This look is EVERYTHING!’
After the Fashion Bomb Daily Instagram account shared Kristy’s full unboxing video, where she explained they were ‘sold out for so long,’ commentators were even more confused by her choice in footwear.
After the Fashion Bomb Daily Instagram account shared her full unboxing video, where she explained they were ‘sold out for so long,’ commentators were even more confused by her choice in footwear
One commenter called them ‘the most outlandishly ridiculous thing ever’ as others insisted they could make similar footwear for free
One commenter called them ‘the most outlandishly ridiculous thing ever.’
‘Ma’am we already late to everything without ‘pump required footwear.’ Could you imagine?’ another person said about the time required to blow up the boots.
One summed it up: ‘Some things just need to stay on the RUNWAY!’
While the highly expensive shoes have gone viral for being so out-of-the-box, it’s far from the first time that’s happened with designer duds.
Fashion fans – including Sofia Richie’s husband Elliot Grainge – previously hilariously roasted a pair of $2,700 Loewe bedazzled boots with crystals on the toes, a leather pant-like structure and a teeny tiny black skinny heel.
Footwear enthusiasts were equally intrigued by a bizarre pair of cartoonish $350 red rubber boots inspired by Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF, which had a waitlist a mile long and boasted plenty of celebrity fans.
