Japan has a rich history of long-distance running, including the ‘Ekiden’ – road races covering vast distances over multiple days, the first taking place in 1917 from Kyoto to Tokyo. And, while contemporary Japanese runners now likely use the high-stack, bouncing-on-air carbon-plated sneakers that have since become the norm, a sleek new collaboration between Issey Miyake and New Balance returns to the ‘barefoot’, minimalist running sneakers of the 2010s, promising a feeling of ’sensuous physicality and barefoot mobility’, according to Issey Miyake designer Satoshi Kondo.
Indeed, the sneaker – titled the Issey Miyake × New Balance MT10O – looks back to the MT10, a minimalist trail running sneaker that was first introduced in 2011 as part of the Boston-based sportswear brand’s ‘Minimus’ series. With minimal padding and cushioning and a slim ‘close-to-the-ground’ sole, the new riff sees the original design reinterpreted by Kondo and his team in monochrome white, black and blue-green. Kondo says he was inspired by the ’natural and honest shape’ of the sneaker, which reflected the house’s S/S 2024 collection, where the design first appeared.
‘Sensuous physicality’: Issey Miyake x New Balance MT10O
In terms of construction, the Issey Miyake × New Balance MT10O combines aerodynamic panels of mesh with leather, while cord shoelaces recall trail-running sneakers and hiking boots. The outsole, which is designed for ’grip and durability’, is made for off-road and trail running, created by Italian rubber and sole expert Vibram (the ‘drop’ is just 4mm, designed for a midfoot strike). New Balance says the overall impression is to feel as if you are running without shoes. It is completed with a co-branded logo and a special shoe case to reflect the sneaker’s limited-edition status.
The partnership follows a slew of recent collaborations between New Balance and fashion labels – from Junya Watanabe to Aimé Leon Dore, Todd Snyder and Kith. Most recently, a collaboration with Miu Miu – for the brand’s S/S 2024 collection, a suede style with double-colour laces – has proved a sell-out hit, with re-sale sites selling the co-branded sneaker at almost triple its £780 retail price.
The sneakers launch in Japan on 15 May 2024, with a global release to follow on 14 June 2024.
isseymiyake.comnewbalance.co.uk
-
Oliver Spencer’s new Marylebone store offers an ‘arts and crafts-inspired’ approachOliver Spencer opens a new store in the heart of London's Marylebone, with sage green interiors and repurposed materials. We speak with the designer to unpack the space’s independent style
-
Head Hi presents the 5th annual Lamp Show during New York Design WeekHead Hi, the city’s favourite architecture and design bookstore, debuts 54 new lights in a Tribeca pop up exhibition at New York Design Week 2024 (until 19 May)
-
A Red Rock house balances spatial luxury and desert minimalismThis Red Rock house by Faulkner Architects, set in the open Nevada country outside Las Vegas, balances spatial luxury and desert minimalism
-
Inside John Lobb’s sumptuous new Kyoto store, housed in a traditional wooden ‘machiya’John Lobb’s inviting new Teruhiro Yanagihara-designed Kyoto store is introduced with a series of images starring lauded Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda
-
These gravity-defying Santoni heels are a sculptural wonderA closer look at Santoni’s Victoria pumps, which are defined by the architectural rigour of their gently slanted heels – an ode to the heritage footwear brand’s roots in Le Marche, Italy
-
’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a definitive guide to the pioneering Japanese designer’Issey Miyake: 1960 to 2022’ is a new Taschen book that provides a comprehensive overview of the pioneering Japanese designer’s ’poetic but pragmatic’ work
-
Issey Miyake’s radiant new Paris store celebrates its deep-rooted links to the cityIssey Miyake’s new flagship store on Paris’ Rue François is designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, featuring a luminous orange wall designed to evoke the rising sun
-
This season’s womenswear channels freedom and escapeThese S/S 2024 womenswear looks promise an escape from the everyday, and are photographed amid the otherwordly landscapes of the Canary Islands for the March 2024 Style Issue of Wallpaper*
-
Designer Ronan Bouroullec on his colourful collaboration with Homme Plissé Issey MiyakeThe multidisciplinary French artist and designer saw his colour-soaked drawings reinterpreted by the Homme Plissé Issey Miyake design team as part of the Japanese brand’s menswear show in Paris last week
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024: Loewe to HermèsThe best of Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024 in our ongoing report, from Jonathan Anderson’s church of masculinity at Loewe to a consideration of pleasure from Véronique Nichanian at Hermès
-
Issey Miyake’s innovative IM Men label arrives outside Japan for the first timeIM Men, a menswear label centred on functionality from the Miyake Design Studio, arrives in a much-anticipated new London pop-up
