Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim animation that has had a chokehold on popular media since the pilot episode of the series aired on the 2nd of December a decade ago. Since then, the comedic pair have dominated the pop culture, with everything from home décor to clothing items being dedicated to them. Speaking of clothing items, some recent additions to the plethora of inspired works are custom “Rick and Morty” x Air Force 1 sneakers.
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Since they were initially posted on Instagram on the 6th of October, these sneakers have been broadcast far and wide, including by the custom sneaker media account @customkickswlrd when they asked their followers who their favourite character from the show is. Why? Because the sneakers are a stunning and lovely homage to a bunch of characters from the show, managing to reference a new one on nearly every piece of the sneakers.
The sneakers were initially created by @t.rated.designs as a commission for USC Trojans’ Dennis Rodman Jr and have been called the “What the Rick and Morty” Air Force 1 sneakers. The left sneaker is different from the right, both of which have been customized to include more than six characters on each.
The show isn’t called Rick and Morty for no reason, so we will start on the left for a description of these sneakers (you will see why in a bit). Starting from the bottom, the left shoe sports a black outsole complemented by a grey midsole, both of which work together to match the leather heel tab, which has been customized to show the stripes, headlights, and dome of Rick’s Space Cruiser.
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The mudguard of the left sneaker is a purple galaxy pattern representing the cosmic being Supernova. The mid-foot panel and Nike Swoosh logo represent Prince Nebulon, the red and gold being his uniform, and the textured-looking pink being his skin.
The heel counter that wraps around the back of the foot represents Zeep Zanflorp, the genius who replicated the experiment that powers Rick’s Space Cruizer. The sneakers’ light blue and pink lace unit represents Unity, the collective consciousness that Rick has a fling going with, while (fittingly) the tongue has Rick plastered onto a purple label.
On the right shoe, Summer is attributed as the inspiration for the orange outsole and the pink midsole, with the orange representing her ginger hair and the pink representing the shirt she can wear for much of her time on the show. From there, the techno-inspired blue and red mudguard is representative of Vance Maximus’s Vindicator uniform.
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Next to Vance is the mid-foot panel, which proudly represents Mr Meeseeks’ happy smile, followed by the grey and white spotted exterior and black Nike Swoosh representing Bird Person. The green heel tab on this side represents none other than Pickle Rick, while Morty can be seen presented on the blue label that dons the tongue.
Both sneakers sport the iconic green portals on the perforated leather toe box. They are the only parts of the sneaker that are the same other than the shape and basic construction. While they are swamped with inspiration, these Nike Air Force 1 sneakers might be the best Rick and Morty-inspired custom out there.
