Hasta La Ideas

The shoe sculpture

Since launching its Made Of Japan campaign in 2007, trainer brand Onitsuku Tiger has created a series of shoe sculptures, each representing different aspects of Japanese culture. Its latest celebrates Tansu, the Japanese woodworking tradition…

The shoe being built

The new shoe sculpture, which was created in a traditional woodshop in Japan by expert craftsmen, forms part of a campaign titled Hidden Tiger by ad agency Amsterdam Worldwide. In keeping with the Tansu tradition of carpentry, the sculpture contains a number of beautifully carved wooden boxes and drawers.

The online shoe, where visitors can interact with the boxes and drawers

Traditionally, these drawers would be used to conceal kimonos, medicinal herbs and swords. The Onitsuku Tiger Tansu shoe instead contains stories of the shoe brand, as well as films, photos and other fun Japanese stuff, which can be discovered by interacting with it online at onitsukutiger.com. Visitors may find some of the drawers locked, presumably as a tactic to get them to return to the site at a later date.

One of the open drawers on the website

The shoe sculpture itself will tour various stores throughout the year, and will first be on show at Offspring in Selfridges, London, from this Friday. To see previous shoe sculptures created for Onitsuku Tiger, visit the website here.