How Eleven Came to Wear the Field General High in ‘Stranger Things’

“Stranger Things” Season Five brought a dramatic conclusion to the decade-long run of the hit Netflix sci-fi series created by the Duffer Brothers. As much as it’s associated with demogorgons and the mysterious Upside Down, the show is also famous for its 1980s setting, which injects doses of nostalgia through elements like needle drops, hair styling, and, of course, fashion choices.

The costume design department, led by Amy Parris since Season Three, kept things vintage or retro right down to the characters’ shoes. Take as a strong example Eleven’s Nike Field General sneakers worn in Season 5, a high-top version of the Field General sneaker, which came out in 1982 as a cleat for quarterbacks and stayed in the archives until a 2024 relaunch.

“We were approached by Netflix and Nike about building some costume shoes,” Parris told FN. “I anticipated there would be very little time because television moves very fast. The writers’ strike of 2023 happened as we were in prep for Season Five, so it allowed us ample time to really dig deep into the Nike archives.”

The sneakers were an apt choice for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), considering the plot of Season Five, in which the Hawkins crew is gearing up to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). The telekinetic Eleven goes through intense training before venturing into the Upside Down and eventually Dimension X.

Parris said of the footwear choice, “Knowing the Field General High was a shoe with higher ankle support really made me feel better about putting Millie in them because she has so much action this season. I knew the shoes would be period correct, comfortable for action and cute!”

To provide these 1980s shoes for “Stranger Things,” Nike went on a quest for an original Field General, which they took apart to create a pattern and recreate their exact specs. The athletic company worked with Bowerman Footwear Lab to promptly create samples. Parris explained that it was a collaborative process to select the colors for each part of the shoe.

The costume designer said, “I wanted the shoe to feel like it could have been a hand-me-down from someone like Jonathan, who had grown out of them. I chose the black sole to be a little more masculine and picked a simple grey Swoosh so no colors would clash with any outfits she would be wearing during the season.”

Eleven’s Field General High was even released as part of a collaboration with Nike, in addition to the LD 1000 for Erica and the Air Max 1 for Steve. For Parris, these shoes “felt like the right representation of mid ’80s fashion, each shoe is unique and appeals to different audience members. Eleven’s shoe is similar to the look of a wrestling boot which has been in and out of style throughout various decades. I think it’s time for that style to make a comeback.”

Looking back at some of her favorite vintage shoe moments from the series, Parris has a special love for Nancy’s footwear: “Most of hers were true vintage we were able to find in multiples or we were able to use one-offs. I was able to make custom leather boots with a cobbler called Jitterbug Boy out of Canada for Nancy.”

Parris found connecting with different shoe brands to be an exciting part of the costuming process. To name a couple other highlights, there was a hand-delivered pair of Diadorra shoes for Joyce (Winona Ryder) which were flown overnight from Italy, and Reebok made multiples of a vintage shoe for Eleven which was found at a garage sale.

There’s also a sentimental callback in the finale, which references the very beginning of the series, if you’re able to spot the shoes worn by Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Lucas (Caleb McCaughlin) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo).

Parris shared, “For this final episode, I made sure that the shoe brands worn by the core 4 were the same brands as the first episode, full circle.”