Celebrated Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami is set to revive his sneaker project. Taking to his personal Instagram account, Murakami revealed his archival sneaker designs along with an official message to fans that he is officially restarting the project.
Murakami originally kicked off his sneaker project before the pandemic hit. But because of high costs, his company almost went bankrupt, therefore putting a pause on the venture. He also shared on IG past inspirations including a pair of Nike Basketball sneakers and Evangelion. “Three years ago, I made sneakers from scratch. That was before the pandemic. The concept was “What is Japan?” and I wanted to make something like the backpack of Gundam’s Zaku, something that perhaps looked like an optional weapon,” he shared.
“This is going to be a huge surprise for the sneaker industry since it combines the contexts of Zaku and Eva, the symbols of Japanese robot animation, with Porter and shoes as bags,” Murakami continues his post. “Well, it may have merely been a topic of quiet conversations, but recently Prada and other brands have been making shoes with these mini bags, so I’m childishly pleased with ourselves that our project has left its mark on the industry.” The end products are two high-top sneakers equipped with PORTER bags on both the lateral and medial sides.
With current travel restrictions, the sneakers will be made predominately in Japan. Keep it locked here for updates regarding Murakami’s sneaker project.
