Cover Close up shots of Maison Mihara Yasuhiro sneakers at Studio Dimensione (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
Close up shots of Maison Mihara Yasuhiro sneakers at Studio Dimensione (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
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Mihara Yasuhiro takes on sneakers with poetic design and a resistance to mass-produced fashion norms
For Mihara Yasuhiro, a sneaker is never just a sneaker. In an age where aesthetics are dictated by mass production and algorithms rule the market, the Japanese designer is carving out a path where environmental responsibility and artistic vision converge.
Born in Nagasaki in 1961, Yasuhiro’s journey into fashion began in the hands-on atmosphere of a shoe factory. At Tama Art University, he crafted his first pair of shoes and discovered a tactile fascination that would soon sprout into a career. He found purpose in designing “art for everyday wear.” In other words, shoes meant not just to be admired, but lived in.
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Above Mihara Yasuhiro takes on the DJ booth at the launch of his pop-up at Studio Dimensione (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
Mihara Yasuhiro takes on the DJ booth at the launch of his pop-up at Studio Dimensione (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
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Later, he would found his eponymous label, Mihara Yasihuro, in 1996. He renamed the brand Maison Mihara Yasuhiro in 2016, continuing to produce shoes known for their subtly uncanny, almost distorted visuals. One pair consists of the familiar black, high-top cotton canvas sneaker enhanced by a soft and perforated sole, visually similar to a cork-board in nature. “Everyone in the world has an idea of what a sneaker is,” he comments, speaking in Japanese through an interpreter. “Either people see something wrong with my shoes, or they see something poetic.”
His method involves It can be said that his shoes emerge not as products but provocations, objecting to the question on how design is made and who controls its narrative. It’s this resistance to automation that feels almost radical and ambitious. It’s enhanced through the building of a creative method that pushes back against the digital homogeneity that has crept into the fashion industry.
See also: When fashion meets art: iconic collaborations between designers and artists
Above Maison Mihara Yasuhiro sneakers on display at Studio Dimensione in BGC (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
Above A close up shot of a Maison Mihara Yasuhiro piece signed by the designer himself (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
Maison Mihara Yasuhiro sneakers on display at Studio Dimensione in BGC (Photo: courtesy of Bench)
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A project launched in 2020, called ‘General Scale,’ integrates sustainability into the heart of his practice, embodying environmental responsiblity in material and mindset. Each pair is made with organic cotton and recycled elements, reflecting a deep-rooted reverence for nature. But at same time, his intention with his to apply an “element of time travel” for wearers to question if his pieces are made for the past or for the future.
At the end of the day, a Mihara Yasuhiro sneaker is a study in dualities, turning everyday footwear into something quietly radical. In doing so, he asks the wearer to reconsider what design can be when it’s rooted in intention rather than novelty.
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About
Julianna has been interested in leading a literary life since she first read Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess at eight. Before working with Tatler, she was an archive intern at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, New York. She is a textbook Pisces who devotes most of her spare time to her crochet projects, watching classic films, and going through her never-ending pile of unread books. She studied creative writing, global literature and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022. Toni Morrison, Nora Ephron, Clarice Lispector and Jia Tolentino are among her all-time favourite writers.
Work
Julianna writes about fashion, beauty, sustainability, and the arts. She is always keen on conducting interviews with talented women who are changing the game in their respective fields.
For event invites and story leads, hit her up at julianna.cabili@tatlerasia.com
