HOKA and Braid Dead have finally come together to create a collaborative shoe. Why'd it take so long to bring together Brain Dead and the brand once known as HOKA ONE ONE, given that Brain Dead has already dished sneaker collabs with everyone from Oakley to ASICS and Reebok Classic?!
Brain Dead co-founder Kyle Ng first provided some glimpses at the Brain Dead x HOKA Hopara collab, which sees Braid Dead take on a new iteration of HOKA's hiking sandal.
The Brain Dead x HOKA Hopara shoe wears head-turning metallic Peapod Green paneling on its distinct cutout upper, giving the Hopara a futuristic, synthetic appearance.
Brain Dead's Hopara isn't just a special edition — it foretells the release of HOKA's revamped Hopara shoe, which now wears a neoprene collar for easier slip-on capabilities and a revised sole that's both slip-resistant and sturdier.
Brain Dead's collaborative Hopara also preserves its painless bungee lace system, topped with an embroidered Braid Dead-branded strip. The LA-bred collective's semi-spooky branding also surfaces on the shoe's heel tab and side ankle collar.
Finally, the Brain Dead x HOKA shoe also boasts some slightly ghostly translucent details, epitomized by the rubberized EVA midsole and toe cap.
Brain Dead will launch its HOKA Hopara collaboration on the Brain Dead website come August 22 for about $180. The revamped in-line HOKA Hopara (and Brain Dead's collab) will then drop August 25 on HOKA's web store and at select HOKA stockists.
Brain Dead never misses with its collaborative team-ups, especially when it comes to the sneaker department. Led by Kyle Ng and Ed Davis, the brand has bestowed us with everything from colorful ASICS shoes to enough Oakley slip-on sneakers to make mule boyz swoon. Again, all hits and no misses.
At the same time, HOKA continues to make big — and we mean big – strides, keeping fans well-fed with classics, collabs, and killer in-house deigns like the Skyline-Float X and Restore TC slip-on.
So, when you combine two geniuses like Braid Dead and HOKA, no wonder that you get footwear magic like this collaborative Hopara.
