A HOKA for Grandpas? No, a HOKA For Zenmaxxing Grandpas
We live in a loud, chaotic world. One soundtracked by an orchestral ping of messages and alerts and breaking news notifications. Given all this noise, what could be more appealing than spending your days serenely raking sand in some nondescript Japanese Zen garden?
HOKA and BEAMS get that. They even made a sneaker for it with a grandpacore campaign that goes far harder than it has any right to.
A shaved-headed older man squats like a SoundCloud rapper in the sands of a Zen garden in one standout shot. Here, his light Oxford shirt and loose pants are paired with the new shoe: a camouflage-covered take on HOKA’s signature Bondi 7.
Released as part of the Japanese megaretailer’s 50th anniversary, the chunky-soled sneaker’s new colorways are inspired by Japanese dry landscape gardens and temples that “embody a sense of harmony with nature,” per the press release. The print lends a stealthiness to the typically bulbous silhouette, but it’s really the images that sell the vision.
There really has never been a better time to be elderly (and dripped out) in fashion. Japanese grannies are handstitching fancy Veja shoes, German sandal maker Birkenstock is dropping artisanal wedding slippers, and even BEAMS is tapping in. Its debut collaboration with Mephisto, another French shoemaker beloved by grandparents, included a line of streetwear-adjacent merch in a stylish first for the 80+year-old shoemaker.
With the new shoe, HOKA is also bringing BEAMS stateside. The freshly zen Bondi 7 will debut first at BEAMS' Japanese location, before it hits HOKA retailers worldwide a week later. Also included in its rollout plans? An achingly Los Angeles-flavored wellness event that includes a group jog, sound meditation, and tea service.
The HOKA Bondi 7 BEAMS comes at an interesting time for footwear. While many other brands slim down their signature silhouettes, slide into skate shoe territory, or go full-freak, it’s nice to see a shoe release go simple — tying itself to the chill vibes of an elder zenmaxxing in a Zen garden.
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