Kid Cudi is a lot of things. World-class rapper, phenomenal hummer, and... sneaker designer?

Just recently, the Lonely Stoner debuted a pair of special Off-White™ sneakers that riff on the chunky Out of Office silhouette. He first teased the shoes on social media, sharing a close-up image of a custom Off-White™ label labeled with Kid Cudi's full name beneath a sketch of a shaded wrist and paint brush.

Cudi then showed up wearing the new sneakers at the Off-White™ runway show on March 5, suggesting that this is a particularly personal project for the fashion house’s longtime friend.

Heavily inspired by aughts-era basketball kicks, Off-White™'s OOO (Out of Office) sneaker marked the beginning of a new era for Off-White™ .

While not the brand's first original sneaker, the OOO, first released in September 2020, quickly became the crown jewel of Off-White™'s solo sneaker offerings. 

And for what it's worth, the OOO's low-cut chunky build follows a particular sneaker style code that Cudi is quite fond of. Sure, Kid Cudi has worked on sneakers before but when it comes to Off-White™ and Mr. Mescudi — it’s much deeper than super nice shoes.

The same year the OOO sneaker was released, Kid Cudi actually teamed up with Off-White™ founder Virgil Abloh for a "Leader of the Delinquents" merch t-shirt, though the duo's shared artistic history goes even further back.

In 2018, Abloh and friends worked on the merch for Kid Cudi's 2018 Kids See Ghosts album, and that same year, Cudi walked in Abloh's first Louis Vuitton presentation.

After Abloh’s death in 2021, Cudi continued to pay respect to Abloh's era-defining vision and even modeled his own clothing brand, Members Of The Rage, or MOTR, in the cultural image of Off-White™, especially as it relates to Off-White™'s overarching influence.

Now, five years later, it appears Cudi is gearing up to continue a decade of creative collaboration with Off-White™ , with a new take on one of Off-White™'s most storied sneakers.

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