For Japan’s Avant Sneaker-Maker This Gigantic Shoe Is Normal
By any conventional standards, the grounds x UNDERCOVER Orca sneaker is absurd. For grounds, this gigantic shoe is almost mundane.
Mikio Sakabe's footwear label grounds is a maker of sneakers so extreme that its founder prefers not to be mentioned as part of the “shoe market” (as Highsnobiety learned in a recent interview). grounds’ weird and wonderful oddities exist in a lane of their own.
Within the boundary-pushing world of grounds, where sneakers are impossibly bulbous and technical fabrics look like they’ve arrived from the future, its UNDERCOVER collaboration is on the less extreme side of the spectrum. You could almost say it's relatively minimalist and sleek.
Building atop of grounds' signature Orca sneaker, Jun Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER label creates a techy-looking zip-up stomper.
The shoe's monstrous sole unit, with sculptural curves carved into it, holds a knitted sock-sneaker upper with a long zip running along the top.
As with many other UNDERCOVER sneaker collaborations from bygone years, the colorways are muted (the two options are between all-black or dark brown) and the branding is entirely simple with an UNDERCOVER logo subtly stamped onto the sole.
Having that UNDERCOVER branding on the shoe is a noteworthy cosign for a niche shoemaker like grounds. While it has worked with buzzy designers before, most notably Walter Van Beirendonck, and had some mainstream crossover by collaborating with popstar Camila Cabello, grounds is still firmly an iykyk sneaker brand.
A world-renowned fellow Japanese label like UNDERCOVER can only strengthen its audience. For many, this collaborative release on July 26 will serve as an entry point into the brilliantly avant world of grounds.
SHOP OUR FAVORITE PRODUCTS
Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit the HS Style Guide for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.
