Satan Shoes Manufacturers Agree To Recall The Product By Offering Refund To Buyers

Nike says the team that made the “Satan Shoes” which allegedly contained a drop of human blood on the soles has agreed to issue a voluntary recall as part of a legal agreement.

The $ 1,018 (£ 740) worth trainers are just modified and converted Nike Air Max 97s. Only 666 pairs have been made and all have been shipped out with one exception.

MSCHF will jointly provide full refunds to customers for the removal of footwear from circulation, Nike said.

Trademark Infringement

The agreement addresses the issue of trademark infringement by Nike.

Controversial shoes were produced by the Brooklyn art collective with rapper Lil Nas X, who held the last pair so he could choose the recipient. MSCHF said it would keep the final pair of shoes.

MSCHF has said it will keep the last pair of shoes now.

Nike’s Statement

No other details have been made public about the deal, including Jesus’ shoes made by MSCHF in 2019 using the Air Max 97 as a base.

“MSCHF altered these shoes without Nike’s authorisation. Nike had nothing to do with the Satan Shoes or the Jesus Shoes,” Nike said in a statement.

Limited edition shoes can fetch high prices among collectors so it is unclear how many – if any – customers will return the products.

The Background

Nike filed a lawsuit against MSCHF last week claiming that “Satan Shoes [may] cause confusion, misunderstanding and create the wrong association” between MSCHF products and the company. But MSCHF said the shoes “are works of art with individual numbers” and did not sow or intend to sow any sort of confusion.

Siding with Nike, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order last Thursday.

David Bernstein, from the intellectual property litigation group at Debevoise & Plimpton and a representative for MSCHF, said the artistic messages the collective hoped to convey were “dramatically amplified” by the lawsuit.

“MSCHF intended to comment on the absurdity of the collaboration culture practiced by some brands, and about the perniciousness of intolerance,” he said in a statement as news of the settlement emerged, adding that MSCHF was “pleased to have resolved the lawsuit”.

Sold Out In Less Than 60 Seconds

MSCHF sold black and red shoes in less than a minute last week. It coincided with the launch of Lil Nas X’s latest song Montero (Call Me By Your Name), which has been released on YouTube a few days ago.

The song features the rapper, who came out gay in 2019, celebrating his sexuality and refusing attempts to humiliate him. In a heavily stylised music video, he slides down a pole from heaven to hell before dancing provocatively with Satan, then snaps his neck and steals his horns.

The pictures and shoes point to a Bible verse in Luke 10:18 – “Then said he unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”