HOKA & paria /FARZANEH’s Chunky Recovery Shoe Is Sparkly, Patterned, & Hairy
HOKA is known for cutting-edge sneakers that will help you traverse a tricky mountain ridge at speed, but it also makes cozy slip-ons to help your feet recover after said grueling run. And the latest of those supportive recovery shoes has been drastically reimagined by Paria Farzaneh.
The British-Iranian designer has upgraded HOKA’s newly developed Restore TC Chukka shoe.
HOKA’s restore line normally consists of minimal, no-nonsense designs that are borderline orthopaedic-looking. But the HOKA x paria /FARZANEH Restore TC Chukka is anything but minimal — in the words of Travis Wiseman, Director of Lifestyle Product at HOKA, it is “an unexpected yet dynamic take on HOKA recovery footwear.”
Fuzzy mohair, intricate jacquard motifs, and reflective sparkly detailing come together on the shoes, an eye-catching finish inspired by the playful confections from a bakery near the brand’s London design studio.
And in keeping with the bakery theme, its two colorways are named chocolate and cream.
“The Restore TC shoe has been a part of my lifestyle for a while, which made working with HOKA on this partnership a very organic process from the beginning,” says Paria Farzaneh in a statement about the collaboration. “Coming up with my own perspective by integrating some of the Paria Farzaneh codes and elevating the silhouette to a new dimension felt like a natural creative expression.”
When it arrives in-store on October 11, retailing for $145, the HOKA x paria /FARZANEH Restore TC Chukka will be the debut of HOKA’s new recovery shoe.
The Chukka model maintains the highly-cushioned, thick sole unit from the regular HOKA Restore TC while offering a higher collar, more structured silhouette, and, for the first time, laces. However, these are elastic zig-zag laces that maintain the recovery shoe’s slip-on functionality (the last thing you want after a draining long-distance run is the tangly inconvenience of tying laces).
Many people will have been introduced to Paria Farzaneh’s brand, filled with traditional Middle Eastern motifs and technical designs, through sneakers. The designer’s Converse partnership from her earliest collections helped to establish her as one of fashion’s most exciting young talents.
It’s been a number of years since we’ve seen a new collaborative sneaker from the designer but the wait is over. Paria Farzaneh is back making simple sneakers into complex showstoppers.
