It was likely by Lena Waithe’s choice rather than the decision of a wardrobe stylist, but sneakers played a small supporting role in Aziz Ansari’s recently released third season of Master Of None. From the very first frame of the first episode, sneakers were front and slightly off-center and continued to be a fixture in the rather unique aesthetic, with colorful and high-priced kicks going against the grain of the cozy aesthetic brought on by the Hudson Valley home and its surrounding rural nature. The actual selection of sneakers also solidify that LADIES must’ve been done at the end of 2020 given the retail release dates of the shoes featured in the show.
Streaming exclusively on Netflix, this latest season off the award-winning “dramedy” was four years in the making as the last season aired way back in 2017. The longer-than-usual hiatus was a combination of a number of things, from general lace-up to Aziz taking a step out of the limelight due to some allegations, not to mention the global pandemic that essentially halted the progress of any project. The big surprise with the latest season is, of course, the fact that Dev (played by Ansari) gets minimal airtime, appearing for minutes on two occasions. Lena’s character Denise and her on-screen partner Alicia (played by Naomi Ackie) are the focal point of Moments Of Love, but we won’t get down to the nitty gritty. Instead, let’s take a look at some of the sneakers that appeared in this short five-episode season. Spoilers ahead.
The Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Mocha” appears in the very first frame of the first episode. In fact, Denise is seen wearing the Mocha 1s on multiple occasions. The scene, which sees Alicia waking up and then tidying up the shoes that are thrown on the ground, establishes that she is constantly cleaning up after Denise.
If there’s one shoe that appears as much as the Mocha 1s do, it’s the Yeezy Foam Runner. Denise regularly rocks the “Ararat” colorway inside the home.
The only occasion in which the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Lucky Green” appears is in this pivotal scene that lays the groundwork for what turns out to be the turning point of their story. Denise is definitely feeling luck and good fortune as the success of her book has her in demand for interviews and appearance. Meanwhile her partner Alicia spends her time by sitting idly by, unable to pursue her own goals while agonizing about “playing housewife” to Denise.
The colorful “What The” Jordan 5 tends to appear during the show’s lighter moments, like this scene of Denise tending to chickens in her chicken coop. It does appear in several other scenes.
The Air Jordan 1 co.jp “Midnight Navy” is definitely a post break-up shoe. It appears in this scene where Denise removes the For Sale sign, indicating that the house is sold and any material connection to the past relationship is severed.
The Midnight Navy 1s appear yet again to the left of the bed, while the Air Jordan 4 PSG is seen at the foot of the bed. There are no scenes of Denise actually wearing them, however.
A pair of Vans Sk8-His, which from most of the frames look rather nondescript, actually play a vital role in the final episode of the season. If one were to look deeper, it suggests that Denise doesn’t need her sneakers to be “heat” and is now comfortable with a simple white pair of Vans; this mirrors her take on relationships in that she’s in a more stable or simpler phase in her life. Also, there’s a lot of chatter that the entire episode was a dream sequence, and the choice in sneaker was to not reveal any chronological discrepancies since the episode seemingly takes place at least two years into the future.
