When DESUS & MERO on Showtime transitioned to filming remotely last year, co-hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero were forced to trade in their elaborate sets for corners of their own homes. Mero retreated to his basement (aka away from his four kids), and Desus situated himself in front of an array of sneakers, each color-coded in clear boxes.
Impressed by his commitment to rotating the pairs in view, fans wondered Nice’s elaborate set up was actually the product of a green screen. “If this was a green screen, could I do that, baby?” he asks as he licks the sole of an all-blue pair of Fila’s Jerry Stackhouse Spaghetti sneakers. For further proof, he breaks his silence on where he bought the organizers from. “These sneaker boxes are each custom made in Italy. They run about $400 each; I can’t tell you the name of the person [who makes them]. There’s a six-month waitlist… I’m kidding. These are regular open flat-front shoe boxes from The Container Store.”
He uses a wall of these as a way to store his collection of sneakers. (He has around 400 pairs.) Switching them out each week takes “either two days or two hours,” he explains in the same segment. Having a surefire way for organizing them abets his sneaker obsession, which he says only developed recently. “People who don’t get it, I completely understand. I used to be like you,” he says. Now he’s cemented himself as a collector. If you feel similarly or are simply desiring a product that’ll declutter what you do have, here are several products that’ll help you declutter your closet and eliminate the stress of mess.
The Container Store Drop-Front Shoe Boxes
Container StoreLarge Drop-Front Shoe Box
This Desus-approved design lets you show off your shoes in a space-saving way. They’re clear and feature a door that opens down, making removing a pair easy and possible without rearranging the entire ensemble. Dubbed the large version, they can fit up to a men’s size 13 (and even some taller boots). Get one for just under $11 or six for under $60.
