Onitsuka Tiger «The substance never changes» From historic Japanese brand to global fashion brand

Post-war Japan, Hong Kong kung-fu movies, The Bride of Kill Bill and Willow Smith. All names that have little to do with each other but that all represent facets of that cross-sectoral myth that is Onitsuka Tiger – a Japanese sportswear brand that has found the secret to its immortality not in stasis and self-worship but in a continuous and constant reinvention - that has led him to move from sportswear to real fashion , with ready-to-wear collections and boutique openings all over the world, the last of which in Milan, today 18 December. The ability to reinvent itself lies at the root of the new fashion-oriented breakthrough that the brand has undertaken under the direction of Andrea Pompilio, who explained to nss magazine:

«My concept is always to start from the history of the brand that invented and developed sportswear but without ever presenting something too sporty because Onitsuka Tiger is not an athletic brand but a fashion brand».

After being for decades and decades a brand exclusively linked to sportswear, in fact, the direction of the brand changed with 2013, and the collaboration with Andrea Pompilio for the creation of the Andrea Pompilio x Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 DX MT. The success of the sneaker led to the birth of a larger collaboration that saw the designer and the brand collaborate for a collection of apparels in 2013 that was renewed for the next five years. 

Another period of prosperity for the brand came in the 1990s. When the Urahara aesthetic spread, it put the emphasis on sportswear, colors, hip-hop and punk. It was the time when the myth of Nigo and Jun Takahashi was born, but also the time when wearing sportswear was a statement, a way of life. It was the period in which the myth of Onitsuka Tiger returned to grow in preparation for the powerful relaunch of 2002. And since then, Onituska's rise hasn't stopped.