Hajime Sorayama Turns the Mizuno Wave Prophecy into Sexy Robots
Hajime Sorayama is a veteran of the Japanese art scene, with a body of work spanning over 40 years. Best known for his retrofuturistic and highly detailed pin-up style illustrations of robots bearing feminine features in seminal (and very appropriately named) titles including Sexy Robot and Pin-up, Sorayama’s CV also includes helping to design the Sony AIBO robot dog – makes sense, right? Now, the latest project from the artist’s metallic mind is a sneaker collaboration with neighbouring running company, , on the equally mechanical-looking Wave Prophecy.
Despite the Wave Prophecy’s long lineage, perhaps its radical sole design and divisive aesthetics haven’t quite propelled it into the lofty heights of sneaker hypedom. Regardless, Sorayama is steadfast with his shiny silver finishes on his bespoke version of the Mizuno runner, welding flat matte uppers with moulded logos to the chromed Infinity Wave midsole. The outsoles are milky ice because, well, tech. On the tech side of things, this design ditches its usual traditional tongue construction for a stretchy bootie that’s shaded in tonal grey. Even the shoelaces are matching, taking on a slight translucence against the smooth upper.
Well, a crazy sneaker like this could only possibly cater for the niche market that is Japan. As such, this colab will only be found at 2G’s Tokyo and Osaka locations on January 30, followed by another limited drop at Dover St Market Ginza and Kith Tokyo, plus some Mizuno outlets.