Finnish favourites Karhu have once again paired up with Daiki Suzuki and the gnag at Engineered Garments for an asymmetric head-turer that somehow tiptoes the line between new and retro.
Splicing together the Mestari and Spring models, this curious and colourful shoe combines the best of both. For context, the Mestari first hit the streets in the ’70s as the OG running shoe with Air Cushion tech, shifting over a million pairs worldwide and cementing itself as one of Karhu’s heavy-hitters. Fast forward to now and the Engineered Garments take throws all the best bits into one shoe, with a tri-colour palette of Superstar Orange, Master Green, and Champion Blue, mismatched left to right, of course, because subtlety isn’t really the point here. Materials are suitably premium too: suede, nylon, and leather uppers, leather lining, plus a leather-topped foam footbed with proper arch support. All tied together with co-brandeding on the tongue and insole.
Sitting here in England, the home of the stiff upper lip and a stoicism that borders on the repressed sometimes, to see a pair of shoes that simply doesn’t match, yet still works is refreshing. This is also an aesthetic nobody in the UK would envisage, and it’s no surprise to see crossed cultures of Japan, U.S and Finland are behind it.
The Karhu Mestari Sprint x Engineered Garments lands on Saturday 13th September via select stockists and over at karhu.com.
