These boots are as hot as this spicy ramen
Many people have a constant love affair with spicy ramen. For one thing, it is served hot and meant to make you feel warm. The other is that it gives you a tongue-searing, tears-flowing sensation once it touches your palate.
Among the many spicy ramens available on the market, Shin Ramyun is one that tickles the fancy of many chili lovers. The Korean style instant noodles are produced by South Korea-based company Nongshim. It is favored for its unique bold and spicy flavor and chewy premium pasta.
Japanese designer Daisuke upped his love for Nongshim Shin Ramyun by making his own customized Shinramen Western boots.
The uppers, according to Daisuke, are one hundred percent made from Shin Ramyun's red wrappers carefully sewn on its rubber soles.
As if that isn't quirky enough, he also attached dangling charms to the boots' edges that look like Shin Ramyun's uncooked noodles!
PhilSTAR L!fe had a quick chat with Daisuke, where he revealed it was also his fondness for Korea that inspired him to create the shoes.
"I often go back and forth between Korea and Japan, and I wanted to make something for Korea as my own work," he says. He found the "trendy Western boots" as the right channel for his creativity.
Daisuke prefers to keep the pair "displayed in [his] room" as a work of art rather than wearing it. Indeed, it has caught the eye of many Shin Ramyun fans, including the Nongshim regional office in USA. "I was contacted by Nongshim in the US, and had them [repost] on their account!" the designer beams.
Although Daisuke has no plans of reproducing it just yet, a lot of netizens are already eager to have their own pair.
One Instagram user said, "If it is sold as a complete product, I will reserve number one."
"Redefining the phrase 'hot kicks,'" wrote another fan.
"Yes please! Send me a pair and I would gladly model them!" a fan pleaded.
But the Shinramen Western boots are not the only fashion piece Daisuke has crafted from upcycled materials. In fact, he has his whole Instagram wall filled with them.
The list includes a pair of IKEA rubber shoes with a disinfectant spray bottle on its toe caps, a Prada dustbag turned into a backpack, and beef rice takeaway boxes that he transformed into a sling bag.
Daisuke explains his unique concept in an interview with men's fashion website PAUSE. "I simply wanted to make what I wanted. This is because by customizing items that are no longer needed and no longer used, they can be reborn as new items and incorporated into fashion," he says.
He adds, "I am always aware of environmental issues. The deterioration of the global environment that occurs all over the world is a serious problem, and I think we need to think more deeply about such matter. By reworking vintage items that are no longer needed, you can take them in and enjoy them as fashion trends."
Photos from Daisuke's Instagram account.