Since the Coachella grounds were blessed with Kanye West’s Easter edition of his Sunday Service, Yeezy Jesus season has been indefinitely approaching. No, Yandhi Jesus is King has yet to come like a thief in the night, but that hasn’t stopped the handful of hypebeasts who found a Bible and a $225 sweatshirt that says “holy spirit” to garb up in full-on poser Christian drip. As of today, less than two dozen customized Nike Air Max 97 “Jesus Shoes” have been sold at the whopping price of—holy shit—$1,425 a pop. That’s chump change for some filthy rich sneakerhead pastors, but a lot of allowance for the teenage hypebeast churchgoer.
Created by Brooklyn-based creative label MSCHF as a collaboration with INRI (Iesus Nazaraeus Rex Iudaeorum), this customized Nike Air Max 97 is filled with Holy Water—originally sourced from the River Jordan—that’s been blessed by a priest. The shoe’s toebox is inscribed with a nod to Matthew 14:25, a reference to Christ’s first offshore stroll. MSCHF’s Jesus Shoes also feature a single drop of blood on them, which can’t possibly be safe, and red, frankincense-scented insoles. Oh, because Christ hadn’t been exploited quite enough, a steel crucifix that’s threaded through each shoe’s laces.
To help promote the shoes, MSCHF sent out six pairs to influencers, YouTubers, and A$AP Rocky to help spread the word. YouTuber Seth Fowler did an unboxing video already, jokingly dubbing the sneakers the “I died for your sins 4's”.
According to an interview with the New York Post, MSCHF’s head of commerce Daniel Greenberg created the shoe was a parody of other brand collaborations. “We thought of that Arizona Iced Tea and Adidas collab, where they were selling shoes that [advertised] a beverage company that sells iced tea at bodegas,” he said. “So we wanted to make a statement about how absurd collab culture has gotten. We were wondering, what would a collab with Jesus Christ look like? As a Jew myself, the only thing I knew was that he walked on water.”
And so the shoe was risen, selling out within mere minutes on MSCHF’s jesus.shoes website. The shoes, which, it should be noted, have no official ties to Nike, are now going for roughly $3,000+ on sneaker resell guide Stock X. We hope someone, somewhere actually wears a pair sometime.