Reaching into their extensive legacy, Japanese brand Mizuno have released a timely reminder of their unique place in sportswear design.
Founded 115 years ago in Osaka by Rhiachi and Rizo Mizuno, the brand began as an importer and retailer of largely western sporting goods. The popularity of baseball in Japan echoed with the brothers and it was on this sport they first focused. By 1938, Mizuno had opened the world’s first sports-specific research and development lab. This solidified the brand’s commitment to creating and providing cutting-edge performance products to consumers all over the world.
The company began to grow awareness for their products through sports endorsements and expanded into a multitude of other sports. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Mizuno set its sights on running footwear, culminating in their well-received Wave Rider shoe in 1997. Working in tandem with technology, the brand continues to carve out a unique path in a congested sportswear market, attracting credibility with those concerned with performance as well as style. Both arenas increasingly cross over, with good design, particularly in footwear, gaining appreciation from a whole new generation of people looking to the recent past for fashion cues.
It is to that backdrop the Contender S finds favour. Originally released in the heady days of 1995, it launched alongside the Mondo Control shoe, which featured ideas from founding father Rhiachi Mizuno. The Contender S is the embodiment of form following function, with a design that still stands up well 26 years after its release. As a new generation begins to discover the beauty in the sportswear of yesteryear, the Contender S makes the short hop from sport to street in effortless style.
Available in Bleached Filigree and High Rise Indigo the Contender S lands this Friday (12th March) at select retailers or from Mizuno Online, here.
