[imagesource: Facebook/Modern Notoriety]

Crocs have seamlessly infiltrated mainstream fashion, going from a polarising comfort shoe into a quirky, high-fashion statement seen on runways and worn by celebrities alike.

But the colourful middle finger to fashionistas now has a contender for the most loved/hated shoes on the planet, thanks to quirky Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.

The new kicks on the block go by many names. Call them pillow slippers, foam shufflers, or cushion slides, these smoothed chunks of squishy EVA plastic look like indoor slippers or shower shoes, but boy, have they been leaving the house.

Kaikai Kiki, Murakami’s company, seems equally confused about how to label the shoes, describing them as “an inventive take on footwear” or “a striking take on the Japanese house slipper” in press releases. One thing is certain, the new kicks on the block are coming to a street near you soon.

Kaikai Kiki’s has now partnered with footwear business experts Violet St to launch an independent footwear brand Ohana Hatake – the first time, it claims, an artist has done so. The news follows on from Kaikai Kiki’s successful limited-edition drop earlier in the year through Complex, the sneakerhead news site and marketplace.The brand name Ohana Hatake means ‘field of flowers’ and, according to Murakami, is inspired by the Japanese manga series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which first ran in 2020. At one point in the show, Flamme, a great mage, teaches the main character Frieren how to create a field of flowers.

“Watching this scene in the anime, I was moved to tears, and I felt gratified by my long dedication to the flower motif in my artwork.”

The first of Ohana Hatake’s simpler Surippa Ohana line will be released at the pop culture festival ComplexCon, which will be hosted by Travis Scott in Las Vegas in mid-November. Ohana Hatake is set to host a booth at the festival and the line’s first colour is rust, a nod to the slide in KaiKai Kiki’s studio.

 

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A wider release, along with a global retail partner, will be available in 2025, so expect to see fashion-forward peeps everywhere wearing his multicoloured flower flops soon. Whether you like it or not.

[source:artnet]