Overview

MSCHF, pronounced “mischief,” is an American creative company and art collective operating through the corporate entity MSCHF Product Studio, Inc. Based in Brooklyn, New York, it is known for releasing numbered “drops” rather than maintaining a conventional product catalog. These releases may take the form of artworks, modified commercial goods, mobile games, software, fashion objects, collectibles, performances or conceptual experiments. The company’s work often combines recognizable brands, absurd humor, internet-native distribution and deliberately provocative questions about ownership, authenticity, commerce, religion, technology and consumer behavior. The company was founded in 2016 by Gabriel Whaley, who became its chief executive, with Lukas Bentel, Kevin Wiesner and Stephen Tetreault among its early creative and operating leaders. Rather than presenting itself as a traditional advertising agency or design studio, MSCHF developed a model in which each drop could function simultaneously as an artwork, a media event and a product launch. Its releases are usually scarce, time-sensitive and designed for circulation through social media, press coverage and secondary-market discussion. This approach helped it reach audiences beyond the contemporary-art world while retaining a strong connection to galleries, artists and collectors. Among its early notable works was The Persistence of Chaos, created with Guo O Dong, which presented a malware-infected 2008 Windows laptop as an artwork. Other projects used existing commercial objects as raw material. Jesus Shoes modified Nike Air Max 97 sneakers with religious elements, while Birkinstocks transformed Hermès Birkin bags into sandals. Severed Spots divided a Damien Hirst spot print into separately sold components, and Museum of Forgery mixed a genuine Andy Warhol drawing with hundreds of reproductions to challenge assumptions about authenticity and value. MSCHF has also used interactive technology and games to create participatory events. Finger on the App, made with MrBeast, turned sustained smartphone interaction into a competition, while Tax Heaven 3000 presented tax-return preparation through a romantic visual-novel format. Other projects have included Cuss Collar, which converts a dog’s bark into spoken profanity; a functional bong shaped like a squeaky chicken; a microscopic Louis Vuitton handbag; and Big Red Boots, an exaggerated footwear design that became one of the company’s most visible fashion releases. The brand’s strategy has repeatedly produced legal and ethical disputes. Satan Shoes, made with Lil Nas X using customized Nike shoes, prompted Nike to sue over trademark and consumer-confusion claims; the matter was settled after a court issued temporary relief. Vans obtained a preliminary injunction concerning Wavy Baby shoes, while Boston Dynamics objected to the use of its Spot robot in the Spot’s Rampage performance. Our Cow Angus, which linked tokenized ownership to a cow, future meat and leather goods, generated criticism from animal-rights advocates and commentators who questioned whether the project meaningfully addressed the food and fashion industries. MSCHF remains a private, active company with a relatively small team. In August 2025 it established Applied MSCHF, an advertising-agency division that used the company’s creative and cultural approach for client work. The company’s continuing significance lies less in any single product than in its method: compressing concept development, production, scarcity, controversy and distribution into fast-moving cultural events.

History

MSCHF was founded in 2016 in the United States by Gabriel Whaley, Lukas Bentel, Kevin Wiesner and Stephen Tetreault. The company developed as a small, multidisciplinary creative organization rather than a conventional consumer-goods manufacturer. Its signature operating format became the numbered drop: a discrete release with a limited supply, a strong conceptual premise and a distribution plan intended to generate online conversation. The company’s earliest work established its interest in treating ordinary commercial objects as artistic material. The Persistence of Chaos, made with Guo O Dong, presented a malware-infected laptop as a collectible artwork and connected digital danger with the art market. Jesus Shoes altered commercially available Nike sneakers with Christian symbolism and water associated with the Jordan River. Puff the Squeaky Chicken turned a novelty rubber chicken into a functional smoking device, while Cuss Collar translated a dog’s barking into spoken profanity. During 2020 and 2021, MSCHF broadened its output into participatory games, social commentary and high-profile fashion interventions. Severed Spots divided a Damien Hirst work into separately marketed components, questioning the relationship between an original artwork and its fragments. Medical Bill Art enlarged actual medical bills into paintings and directed proceeds toward the underlying bills. In partnership with MrBeast, Finger on the App made persistent phone contact the basis of a competitive prize event. Spot’s Rampage placed a paintball gun on a Boston Dynamics robot dog and allowed remote users to control the performance; the project was later reworked after the robot’s manufacturer objected. The company’s fashion work increasingly brought it into conflict with brand owners. Birkinstocks transformed Hermès Birkin bags into sandals, while Satan Shoes, created with Lil Nas X, modified Nike sneakers and used religiously provocative imagery. Nike’s lawsuit ended in a settlement after temporary court intervention. MSCHF later faced Vans litigation over Wavy Baby shoes, with courts granting preliminary relief in Vans’s favor. MSCHF continued to experiment with authenticity, luxury and consumer participation. Dead Startup Toys reduced failed or controversial technology products to miniature collectibles. Museum of Forgery mixed a genuine Warhol drawing with reproductions. OnlyBags presented luxury shopping bags as the central object of a rapid online drop. Big Red Boots converted an exaggerated illustration-like form into a wearable product and became a particularly visible example of MSCHF’s ability to turn an unusual design into a mainstream fashion conversation. In 2023, Tax Heaven 3000 used a romantic visual-novel interface to help users prepare information for United States tax returns, extending the company’s interest in making serious systems playful and culturally legible. A microscopic Louis Vuitton handbag continued its critique of luxury scale and exclusivity. In 2024, Our Cow Angus connected ownership tokens with a living cow and prospective meat and leather outputs; the project provoked debate over animal ethics and the distance between consumers and the products they buy. The cow ultimately survived under the project’s stated conditions. MSCHF also collaborated with Gufram on Cut Pratone, an altered version of the Italian design classic. In August 2025, MSCHF formed Applied MSCHF as an advertising agency and division. This move formalized a client-services extension of the company’s established expertise in cultural attention, provocative concepts and internet distribution. MSCHF continues to operate as a private creative company whose releases occupy an intentionally unstable space between art, merchandise, performance, advertising and satire.

2025
Applied MSCHF established
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
MSCHF created an advertising-agency division named Applied MSCHF.
2023
Big Red Boots and Tax Heaven 3000
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
MSCHF released its oversized footwear and a tax-preparation romantic visual novel.
2021
Satan Shoes dispute
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
Nike sued over the Lil Nas X collaboration; the parties later settled after temporary court relief.
2020
Participatory and socially engaged drops expand
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
Finger on the App and Medical Bill Art demonstrated the company’s use of games, prizes and social commentary.
2019
The Persistence of Chaos and Jesus Shoes
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
MSCHF released an artwork built around a malware-infected laptop and later a religiously modified Nike sneaker drop.
2016
MSCHF founded
[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
Gabriel Whaley, Lukas Bentel, Kevin Wiesner and Stephen Tetreault established the company in the United States.

Products and positioning

Avant-garde, internet-culture-driven creative company combining art, commerce, satire, scarcity and publicity.

Conceptual artwork · 2019
The Persistence of Chaos
A 2008 Windows laptop containing several forms of malware, created with Guo O Dong. The work framed a dangerous digital artifact as a collectible and connected computer security with the economics of contemporary art.
Modified footwear · 2019
Jesus Shoes
MSCHF customized Nike Air Max 97 shoes with Christian imagery and water associated with the Jordan River. The release used religious symbolism and luxury-style scarcity to question how familiar products acquire cultural meaning.
Interactive performance · 2021
Spot's Rampage
A performance involving a commercially purchased Boston Dynamics Spot robot fitted with a paintball gun. App users could control the robot, while the project criticized possible policing applications of robotic dogs. It was later reworked as Spot’s Revenge.
Modified footwear · 2021
Satan Shoes
A Lil Nas X collaboration based on Nike Air Max 97 shoes and decorated with satanic imagery, including a pentagram and inverted cross. The limited release became a major legal and cultural controversy over endorsement, trademarks and religious symbolism.
Fashion footwear · 2023
Big Red Boots
An exaggerated pair of red boots designed to resemble cartoon footwear. The product translated an internet-friendly visual joke into a physical fashion item and became one of MSCHF’s most recognizable releases.
Software and game · 2023
Tax Heaven 3000
A romantic visual-novel-style program designed to help users assemble information for United States tax returns. Its playful format turned a routine and often intimidating administrative process into an internet-native product experience.
Participatory conceptual project · 2024
Our Cow Angus
A project involving a cow and tokenized claims connected to future hamburgers and leather bags. The stated mechanism allowed the animal to survive if enough token holders returned their claims; Angus ultimately survived. The work prompted debate about animal ethics and consumer distance from production.

Controversies

2024
Our Cow Angus animal-rights debate
The tokenized cow project generated criticism from animal-rights advocates and art commentators, who questioned its treatment of animal welfare and whether it created meaningful discussion of food and fashion production.
Source
2022
Wavy Baby litigation
Vans pursued trademark and trade-dress claims concerning MSCHF’s Wavy Baby shoes. Courts granted and affirmed preliminary relief while MSCHF raised a First Amendment defense.
Source
2021
Satan Shoes trademark controversy
Nike alleged that the customized shoes created confusion and damaged its goodwill by implying an association with satanic imagery. The dispute ended in a settlement after temporary injunctive relief.
Source
2021
Spot's Rampage and robot-use dispute
Boston Dynamics criticized MSCHF’s use of its Spot robot in an artwork involving a paintball gun. The project was subsequently changed and retitled.
Source
2021
Nike settles lawsuit over Satan Shoes
Nike settled its lawsuit with MSCHF over the Satan Shoes. The agreement states that MSCHF will recall all the shoes and remove them from circulation.
Source
2021
MSCHF agrees to recall Satan Shoes and Jesus Shoes
As part of its settlement with Nike, MSCHF agreed to a voluntary recall of the Satan Shoes and also said it would recall the earlier Jesus Shoes. Customers who return the recalled shoes can receive refunds.
Source
2021
Nike sues MSCHF over Satan Shoes
Nike sued MSCHF over the Satan Shoes. Nike claims MSCHF tricked consumers into thinking Nike approved the shoes and alleges trademark infringement because the Nike Swoosh remains prominently featured. These are claims reported by the source, not a court determination.
Source

Marketing campaigns

2023Big Red Boots
United States · International online audiences
The launch presented cartoonishly oversized boots as a fashion product and benefited from widespread social-media circulation and celebrity visibility.
Outcome. The boots became a prominent example of internet-driven fashion virality.
Source
2021Satan Shoes
United States · Online
MSCHF and Lil Nas X used a highly limited footwear drop, religious imagery and social-media attention to create a cultural flashpoint around branding and celebrity collaboration.
Outcome. The release sold out rapidly but led to Nike litigation and a settlement requiring return arrangements.
Source
2020Finger on the App
United States · Mobile and online
Created with MrBeast, the mobile game rewarded the last participants to keep a finger on their phone screens. Its simple rule, live persistence and prize structure were designed for viral participation.
Outcome. The first event ended with multiple winners after an unusually long session; a sequel followed in 2021.
Source

Brand decisions

2025
Establish Applied MSCHFStrategy
Background
MSCHF had developed capabilities in cultural strategy, provocative creative concepts and rapid online distribution.
Action taken
The company formed Applied MSCHF as an advertising-agency division.
Aftermath
The move expanded MSCHF’s business beyond drops and artworks into formal client services.
Source
2021
Launch Satan Shoes with Lil Nas XProduct launch
Background
MSCHF used customized commercial footwear and provocative religious symbolism to create a high-attention collaboration.
Action taken
The company released a limited series of modified Nike Air Max 97 shoes.
Aftermath
Nike sued; the parties settled after temporary court relief, and MSCHF agreed to accept returns.
- Nike — Nike brought trademark and dilution claims and sought to stop distribution.
Source
2016
Adopt the numbered-drop modelStrategy
Background
The founders sought a format that could combine creative experimentation with direct, internet-based distribution.
Action taken
MSCHF organized its output as discrete, scarce releases rather than a permanent conventional product range.
Aftermath
The model became central to the company’s identity and publicity system.
Source

Recent events

2025
MSCHF created Applied MSCHF[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
Leadership change
The company established Applied MSCHF as an advertising-agency division, extending its cultural and creative model into client services.
2023
MSCHF launched Big Red Boots[1]MSCHFen.wikipedia.org
Product launch · Campaign
The cartoonishly oversized footwear release became a major social-media and fashion moment, amplified by public appearances from celebrities including wrestler Seth Rollins.