Its head, Ryoji Shoda, tells Men’s Folio the reason behind Onitsuka Tiger’s fascination with Milan Fashion Week, having a focus on Asians as ambassadors, and how the brand intends to engage its Asian upbringing to make Japanese fashion a cornerstone in the European fashion scene once again.

Luxury fashion is not quite as it used to be. Its meaning is even harder to discern today. Once regarded as fantasy disconnected from the urgencies of the real world, the inclusion of streetwear novelties in the past decade — such as sneakers and bags made of synthetic materials mirrored from street fashion — meant the eradication of luxury fashion as a closed-door, closed-minded affair. As more brands attempt to find new ways of expressing themselves, many now being referential of youthful subcultures and micro-trends in a bid to captivate a new generation of online audiences, the strange whirlwind of DIY approaches and relentless Gen-Z pursuits has evolved the term luxury fashion beyond its original meaning. 

However, within its incredible error of perspective was an opportunity for a particular Japanese brand to thrive in its new form. Where it was once acknowledged as a Japanese shoemaker famed as an alternative to Western streetwear giants, the tipping point of luxury fashion was perhaps when Onitsuka Tiger participated in global fashion’s largest gamble — presenting their collections in Milan Fashion Week. One might question the need — its contemporaries have thrived without it. It would not be wrong to assume it feels a tad unnecessary. However, it turns out it is all part of the brand’s efforts to evolve its brand identity beyond its current form and to become one that can theorise what fashion truly means — by being approachable to all sorts of people, not just streetwear fanatics.

Ryoji Shoda, head of Onitsuka Tiger, spoke with Men’s Folio and confirmed the brand’s new evolution and what it means to evoke newness.

With all the changes in place, who do you think Onitsuka Tiger is for today?
We started as a sporting brand but don’t want to target a specific group now. We also want to cater to those who enjoy couture, fashion, and dressing up, not just people who enjoy sports. It’s important (for us) to cater to anyone, especially those who understand our brand legacy and values. That’s why fashion week is important, as it brings us to a new audience.

How different is that perspective from the way the brand was before?
With Onitsuka Tiger, we started our foundations by making sports shoes based on the design of bowling shoes. That was revolutionary at the time. It used to be made of leather, and that turned heads. It was successful, but that was it. Now, we’ve somewhat abandoned our focus on that and created our own unique styles that have permeated different lines and series.

What about your vision for the brand?
To me, it’s never about going after a specific target.

In what way?
What we want to do is offer any consumer who understands what Onitsuka Tiger stands for, who understands our history, and who appreciates our legacy a product that’s like none other. What we are working on today is to make sure that it will be an asset for the brand in the future.

Is fashion just the focus, then?
We believe it’s very important to continue stimulating the five senses we all have. We’ve done the shoes and clothes right, so in that sense, we have the opportunity to do more. For instance, we also run cafés in Japan. That’s just another way of communicating the brand with our consumers.

In that case, is participating in fashion week just as important as these varying activations?
Europe is one region that we want to focus on. In Asia, we have gained quite a few customers (bases)and Onitsuka Tiger fans. When we rebranded Onitsuka Tiger, we immediately targeted Europe. The feedback we got was that they understood and appreciated our rebranding.

Is it just about Europe, then?
No. That momentum moved to Asia, and we’re looking to take it back to Europe. There was a lot that we learnt through this exercise. Currently, London is one of our focal points. In London, we’re offering different types of brand experiences and have many more in the pipeline.

What about celebrities? How do they come into play?
I want to make clear that while we do use celebrities, we do not use them for just one promotion. We don’t go after the hottest celebrity at the moment for the sake of it. We only work with celebrities who love our brand and understand us, so whenever we sign a contract with them, it’s long-term. And what some might not know is that, in many cases, it’s the celebrity that approaches us. I think that means we are doing something right.

Does being Asian mean a lot to you and the brand?
We’re an Asian brand. We’ve been running the brand to make our Asian customers happy and leave them impressed with our products. At the same time, we have to make sure our European consumers love our brand, too. Often, the perspective is that the best fashion comes from Europe. We want to show them that Asian brands can also compete in the European market. 

Is that the same reason behind having Asian celebrities as the brand’s ambassadors? Thanks to Asian talents, the brand saw a 300% growth in EMV.
We need to show the true power of Asian brands, so we also use many Asian celebrities to show that they are just as fashionable and powerful as they are. Through this collaboration with celebrities, they helped increase our brand awareness and vice versa.

What are your plans for Onitsuka Tiger’s future?
Even though we’re celebrating our 75th anniversary (in 2024), we’ve already started working towards achieving our next milestone, our 100th anniversary. What we’re doing is, first and foremost, coming up with new ideas and initiatives. We don’t exactly know what we might do; it could be as ambitious as creating or producing our feature movie. But I know we want to offer more than just fashion. That, to me, is the future of Onitsuka Tiger.

Editor’s note: This interview of Ryoji Shoda, conducted in September 2024 with Onitsuka Tiger, has been edited for clarity.

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