KEEN’s UNEEK is already exactly that – unique. Its hybrid sandal/clog/shoe silhouette featuring an upper constructed almost entirely of lace is certainly a head-turner, and we love it for that reason.
But what if there was a way for KEEN to make their UNEEK even more unique? Well it turns out there is, and if that statement doesn’t intrigue you, nothing will.
KEEN has joined forces with the world’s leading experimental footwear design studio, HAGEL, to create a rendition of the UNEEK and the results of their efforts are most definitely experimental.
The idea for the collaboration seems to have come from childhood toys, but specifically the ones that were favoured by the kids in school who didn’t talk too much – we’re talking about puzzles. Inspired by childhood puzzle games, KEEN & HAGEL have created a puzzle that can be worn on your feet, and don’t worry it’s not a smelly game of noughts and crosses on the top of your foot.
Instead, the duo have created a game called Mindbeads which can be played through the medium of a UNEEK, each pair of the collaboration KEENs come with a set of brightly coloured beads that can then be distributed throughout their lace upper.
It really is as absurd as it sounds, but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t intrigued at having a go at it ourselves. The Mindbeads packaging and the design of the beads themselves has been influenced by those graphics that left you in a trance as you listened to music on Windows XP media player, you know the proper trippy ones that look like a ‘How to get high without drugs’ YouTube video.
The whole collaboration is very ’90s, not just in its design but also in its intentionally gimmicky nature, which we reckon makes it all the more cool. Who knows, perhaps the biggest fashion trend of 2025 will be decorating your shoes with bright ornaments – imagine some mega scouse taxi driver decking out his favourite pair of 110s with pink beads.
If you fancy cashing in on the trend early, you can do so by purchasing a pair of the KEEN UNEEK Mindbeads over at HAGEL.
