Toasty Toes, “Loafers” and Ramen
The Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash merch collab is pandemic-perfection.
Designer to the upper crust, Maison Margiela, and Estonian rapper, Tommy Cash, have collabed to create a 4-item capsule merch collection that is both runway-ready and good enough to eat. As designers that always go against the (whole)grain, the collab comes not as a surprise, but as a marking of the moment. The trompe l’oeil slippers, ramen noodles and accompanying tee and sweatshirt seem to pay homage to the absurdity of our past-pandemic-year which has seen our most popular lounge shoe be slippers, and our culinary standards dip to boil-in-the-bag noodles.
The iconic bread “Loafers” are the stand-out performers of the collab. The slippers were first seen in 2019 as real loaves of bread at an exhibition with Rick Owens, Maison Margiela and Tommy Cash. Now immortalized as slippers with no sell-by-date, the shoes are freshly baked loaves of bread, complete with insoles that look like freshly cut slices. The Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash logo is printed across the front of the “Loafers” and the slippers even come in their own bread bag complete with resealable clasp. At $113, these loafers are the dream shoe-wear for baker’s boys and first-lockdown banana bread obsessives. The product description says it all, “Trips to the kitchen become extra nice with these ergonomic, realistic, and really cozy home loafers. As soon as you slip them on, your feet will thank you for winning the bread!” These will be sure to keep your toes toasty this spring.
The Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash instant noodle pack deserves its own recognition. Standing at $14, the most affordable part of the collection is both unattainable and useless, and yet so goddamn chic. I’m not even 100% sure if they’re meant to be edible as the back of the pack says “NB! This is a collectible item. This product/accessory is not for consumption. Eat only at your own risk,” but I’d risk it for the high-fashion-chicness of a Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash taste experience. Cash said that the idea behind the noodle pack originated from being young, broke and hungry. “It is every student’s food. In Eastern Europe, everyone eats it when they’re in a broke spot. Margiela ramen is something I’ve never seen. You could never have the cheapest thing in the world but it’s designer,” he says. The product description makes the noodle-pack even more chic, saying, “A pack of luxury ramen delivers the Haute Couture savor to quick meals with no need to leave the house.” As none of us have been able to really leave the house over the last year, Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash is providing us with some much-needed nourishment— both in terms of quick-fix food and high-fashion content.
The rest of the collection is made up of the striped sweatshirt and black tee, both of which are embellished with the Maison Margiela x Tommy Cash logo. Arguably more understated than the rest of the almost-edible collection, these staple pieces range from $66 to $120, and are the classic home-cooked pairings to the accompanying loafers and ramen.
The collab have also produced a piece of music together called, “Mute” which is three-and-a-half minutes of complete silence. The Insta caption for the release of the music says it’s “A REAL PANDEMIC BANGER AND THE ANTHEM OF LOCKDOWN IS HERE! SHUT UP WORLD SO YOU CAN FINALLY HEAR YOURSELF.”
One thing is clear— Tommy Cash X Maison Margiela have equipped us to survive the rest of the pandemic with slippers, noodles, silence and sweatshirts. Grab your final-push survival kit from here, as and when you need it.
Next up, Mother Nike
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