Takashi Murakami Makes His First Foray Into Sneaker Production With $600 Kicks Inspired by a Legendary Anime Series

Sneakerheads and anime fans, rejoice: contemporary-art star and
fashion-world favorite Takashi Murakami has created his first pair
of kicks, and they owe their look to some of Japan’s most revered
robot heroes. Called the TZ BS-06s, the sneakers are available
exclusively at the artist’s official online store, Tonari no Zingaro, for the eyebrow-arching
price of ¥64,800 ($611).

“From conception to drawing sketches to selecting the
collaborator and manufacturer, I’ve handled everything, start to
finish, every step of the way,” the artist wrote of the new shoes
on Instagram. “In the past I have
collaborated with brands such as Issey Miyake, Louis Vuitton, and
Vans at their requests
and designed the surface patterns, packages, and wrappings, but I
was never really involved in developing any products. This time, I
truly got [to] do everything from scratch.”

Murakami felt compelled to delve deeper into the sneaker
business after the unexpectedly positive reception he received from
sneakerheads at the inaugural ComplexCon, the hybrid
streetwear exhibition, music festival, and pop-culture event, back
in 2016. He was shocked that so many passionate collectors from
outside the art world recognized him on sight and expressed
admiration for his work. Designing and producing the TZ BS-06 was a
way to forge an even stronger connection with this audience.

After a clunky pair of Balenciaga sneakers sparked his
imagination three years ago, Murakami decided a Japanese-flavored
take on the oversize footwear would resemble the giant manned
military robots from the popular 1980s anime series Mobile
Suit Gundam and its many spin-offs. In particular, he had
in mind the Zaku, the bulky, heavily weaponized “mechas” tasked
with defending the Principality of Zeon in the original series.

While Murakami was working on the design of the TZ BS-06s,
he got a call from an executive at Porter Yoshida & Co, Ltd. The
classic Japanese brand is known for its rugged Porter bags,
specifically the Tanker Helmet bags
inspired by US Air Force flight jackets. The brand asked Murakami
to collaborate on a special Tanker bag in honor of the design’s
30th anniversary.

He agreed, but with a request of his own attached: Could the
company create removable Porter bags for his new sneakers? Murakami
had already been thinking that the nylon fabric used for flight
jackets could capture the Zaku’s military aesthetic, and that some
kind of pockets would reflect the mobile suit’s tank-like
compartments. Miniature Porter bags would be a perfect fit.

The package design for the TZ BS-06s is a multi-layered love
letter to the Japanese fanboy culture of the ’80s. Featuring a
manga-style rendering of a Zaku mecha, the box is also an homage to
Kow Yokoyama, whose Gundam-inspired series
SF3d became famous partly for the distinctively gritty
aesthetic on the exterior artwork of its popular robot-model kits.
Done with Yokoyama’s blessing, the illustration is the work of
JNTHED, who has collaborated with Murakami on his anime
series Six Hearts Princess and CGI/live-action
sci-fi film Jellyfish
Eyes.

The new sneakers offset the dark greenish-gray of the Zaku
mechas with white and orange accents. The design also features no
less than eight removable Porter pouches, which sounds like either
a great alternative to a purse, or a massive obstacle to navigating
a crowded street without losing accessories to accidental
contact.

How does Murakami feel about creating the cargo shorts of the
footwear world, though?

“I’m thrilled to the core,” he wrote.

See more photos of the TZ BS-06s below.

The post Takashi Murakami Makes His First Foray Into Sneaker
Production With $600 Kicks Inspired by a Legendary Anime Series
appeared first on artnet News.