EXCLUSIVE: Y-3 Turned an Ordinary adidas Shoe Into a Behemoth
Yohji Yamamoto and adidas' Y-3 sub-label has been rising to wild new heights as of late, literally. Sure, there are plenty of low-key shoes in the two's lineup but it's the massive platform sneakers that define its recent nuttier fair.
First there was the transcendent Gendo, then there was the meaty Centennial Hi, and now there's the towering Kyasu shoe, a massive sneaker first seen on Yamamoto's Fall/Winter 2023 runway show.
Riffing on the adidas Superstar with its ridged toebox, the Kyasu also tinkers with elements of traditional Japanese footwear, according to Y-3's press release. It doesn't specify where exactly the Kyasu gets its inspiration from but you can see the throughlines leading back to, say, wooden geta sandals.
Meanwhile, according to Y-3 itself, the Kyasu's design comes from a a desire to "create a shoe that resembled an adidas Superstar cast in concrete." So there's that.
The industrial influences are apparent either way. The shoe has no insole, for instance, removing any structure from the lightweight suede upper that stands in complete contrast to the enormous (yet surprisingly lightweight) PU midsole.
Though the Kyasu has been available at certain stockists already, Y-3 is now properly launching the new sneaker online, giving its biggest shoe a deservingly wide release.
Footwear isn't the only thing that Y-3 does well these days, not by a long shot, but it sure is up to some amazing things in the sneaker realm.
The Kyasu is only the latest and the greatest Y-3 design to hit the shelves but it surely ain't the last. Though it might be the biggest.
