As a game franchise, the love for the Nintendo classic game will never die. Fans continue to immortalize Super Mario through merchandise, custom creations, and art. French designer Aboulaye Koné has done all three in creating his “Mario Bros” x Nike Air Force 1 custom concept sneakers. Without further ado, let’s take a look.
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We have seen several Super Mario Bros. custom sneakers emerging since the movie was announced. We have seen some that were desaturated, some that were focused on the characters from the movie precisely, and some that focused on Mario Kart instead. Still, this stunning pair focuses specifically on Super Mario 3, the designer’s favourite Super Mario game, “end of debate!”
The sneakers have an excellent and classic red outsole that is contrasted by the white midsole, immediately evoking the idea of the lips and mouth of the Piranha Plants that frustrates many a player. That motif is only further enforced by the red mudguard with white spots, coming together with the sole and outsole to perfectly represent the creature.
The carnivorous plant idea is only further continued with the green mid-foot panel, reminiscent of the warp pipes that the Piranha Plant is always sticking out of, or possibly even the plant’s foliage.
Mario and Luigi’s hat icons can be seen decorating the front area of the sneakers, with Luigi on the lateral side and Mario on the medial side. The Super Mario Super Star is also on the sneakers near the collar, above the tail of the Nike Swoosh.
The perforated toe box hints at a yellow question mark brick before giving way to a pixelated red super mushroom on the right shoe and a green 1-up mushroom on the left shoe (oriented as they would be on your foot, not in the image). The Nike Swoosh logo is also the same dark yellow as the toe box but with orange decorative stitching and shading around the edges to make it look more brick-like.
Below the Nike Swoosh, the panelling that wraps around the heel has been beautifully decorated to look like the sky background of most Super Mario games, complete with a blue sky and white, fluffy-looking clouds, completed by the presence of a Fire Flower on one side of the heel. In contrast, the other side is decorated with a happy-faced cloud. Luckily, we don’t need to watch out for the Lakitus and Spiny eggs. We simply can’t forget about Toad looking totally epic on the tongue of the sneakers and the heel counter, which is decorated with one of the biggest bads from the Super Mario Bros universe, Bowser himself.
@black_dessinator_kustom usually works on sneakers inspired by manga and anime, as well as doing wonders in turning plain figurines into masterpieces with more detail than you would ever think possible on a piece of art. This Mario Bros pair of sneakers announced that the artist will branch into different styles besides manga and anime. However, it will still be a part of his primary stay creations. If you fall in love with any of this artist’s customs, they have been known to take commissions in their DMs, so take a look!
