The perfect sneakers for stomping aliens are coming to market.
Reebok is going to release the boot-like high tops that Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) wore as she ran around a desolate deep-space moon base, mercilessly battling extraterrestrial life in the 1986 sci-fi classic Aliens. The Stompers are part of a heap of Alien-themed merchandise Fox is putting out for Alien Day, which takes place on April 26.
The date, 4/26, is a reference to LV-426, the name for the distant moon of planet Calpamos that the alien “xenomorphs” inhabit in the series. (Most people around the world would render it 26/4, of course, but there is no 26th month so they’ll have to make do.) As an exercise in promotion, it’s not too far off from last year’s Back to the Future Day, which also saw a highly coveted, fictional sneaker become a reality, in that case, the self-lacing Nike Mag.
Reebok made Weaver’s shoes specifically for the movie, a not-t00-subtle example of Hollywood product placement. Even though the story took place in the year 2179—Reebok’s ad at the time promoted them as a shoe you “won’t see for 150 years”—they still had the typically bulky ’80s silhouette.
Reebok will also put out the similar, mid-top version worn by the android Bishop in the movie. That one has actually made it to market in limited runs before, including in 1987, when it was originally promoted as the Aliens Fighter, and a few times in recent years in Japan.
Reebok tells Quartz the new releases will be small runs, too. Just 426 pairs of the high-top version ($175) will be available, and 1,986 pairs of the mid-tops ($135) will go up for sale.