A Brooklyn company sued by Nike over the unauthorized sale of Satan Shoes – an after-shoe sneaker containing a drop of blood and promoted by rapper Lil Nas X – agreed on Thursday to return the shoes as accept part of a settlement.
The company, MSCHF, will, according to Nike, offer a refund to people who want to return the sneakers under the terms of the settlement, who said in a statement that the purpose of the “voluntary recall” was to take the shoes out of circulation.
The settlement came a week after a U.S. judge in the Brooklyn district court granted a temporary restraining order against MSCHF (pronounced mischief) after he sued the company last month.
A total of 666 pairs of the Satan Shoes were manufactured by MSCHF, which recorded drops of the employees’ blood and ink in an air bubble in the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers. Each pair costs $ 1,081. They sold out in less than a minute last month.
Many of the highly sought-after sneakers were quickly offered for sale on auction sites such as eBay for three or four times the original price, making it apparently less likely that buyers would want a refund.
One seller was looking for $ 15,000 for a pair of 8-piece Satan shoes, featuring Nike’s brand swoosh logo and a bronze, pentagram – shaped charm. “Luke 10:18” – a reference to the biblical passage that says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” – was printed on it.
A previous series of unauthorized Nike sneakers sold by MSCHF, called the Jesus shoe, which contained holy water could also be returned for refund, Nike said.
“In both cases, MSCHF has changed these shoes without Nike’s permission,” Nike said in a statement on Thursday. “Nike had nothing to do with the Satan shoes or the Jesus shoes.”
An MSCHF lawyer does not dispute that the company agreed to the voluntary repurchase, but said Thursday that he could not disclose the terms of the settlement.
“With these Satan shoes – which sold out in less than a minute – MSCHF intended to comment on the absurdity of the collaborative culture practiced by some brands, and on the perniciousness of intolerance,” the lawyer said. David H. Bernstein, said in a statement. email statement Thursday.
The collaboration between Lil Nas X and MSCHF coincided with the rapper’s release of a devil-themed music video for his song “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”, in which he graces Satan’s lap.
In the song, Lil Nas X, who was born Montero Lamar Hill, “cheerfully rejoices in lust as a gay man,” wrote Jon Pareles, the lead music critic of The New York Times.
Lil Nas X appears in 2019. The title of the song is an apparent reference to ‘Call Me by Your Name’, a novel about a secret summer romance between two men that is turned into a movie.
Mr. Bernstein said all but one of Satan’s shoes were sent to buyers before the April 1 temporary restriction was issued.
He described the sneakers, which were individually numbered, as works of art representing the ideals of equality and inclusion. Mr Bernstein said MSCHF was looking forward to arguing that its activities would be covered under the law of the first amendment of artistic expression.
“Having already achieved its artistic goal, MSCHF acknowledged that settlement was the best way to put the lawsuit behind it so that it could devote time to new artistic and expressive projects,” he said.
Nike said it would not be responsible for issues with sneakers that people decide to keep going.
“Buyers who choose not to return their shoes and later experience a product problem, defect or health problem should contact MSCHF, not Nike,” the company said.