Hajime Sorayama and Li-Ning Link Up for Chromed-Out Shadow Colab
Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama has been diversifying his creative mediums lately by venturing into the well-trodden world of sneaker collaborations. With a couple of efforts already under his belt from other brands, he turns to China’s for his latest remake of the techy Shadow runner.
Sorayama is best known for his simultaneously hyper-realistic and surreal illustrations of robots and cyborgs, which first started back in the late 1970s. His artworks have since graced numerous collaborations in the art and fashion world, with sneakers only a relatively recent endeavour. Considering his futuristic outlook on things, Li-Ning’s similarly are a good fit here.
The Shadow model has become something of a collaborative commonality for the brand, having previously featured in Soulland’s collection. Sorayama reprises the high-tech running shoe and renders it in his signature liquid metal silver, resulting in something the Tin Man could wear in The Wizard of Oz 2939. Upping the advanced design is the use of a BOA dial closure system – a simpatico Sorayama feature – replacing the traditional laces used on the standard Shadow.
The Hajime Sorayama x Li-Ning Shadow forms part of a larger ‘LET SPORTS LIGHT YOUR PASSION’ collection, which also includes co-branded apparel and accessories. This colab is available now exclusively in Japan and China.