Junya Watanabe Stays One Step Ahead
The Japanese designer has been quietly reimagining the sneaker landscape for decades. His latest New Balance collaboration might change everything.
Earlier this year in Paris on a plaster-covered runway illuminated by spotlight beams, Junya Watanabe’s unmistakable creative vision once again stole the show. The famed Japanese designer, known for his boundary-breaking fashion experiments, unveiled his Fall 2024 collection. His distinctive take on menswear—archetypal silhouettes elevated into abstract curiosities—was a sight to behold. However, beyond the geometric contraptions and curious shapes, a pair of reimagined shoes set the fashion world abuzz, igniting a wave of anticipation and excitement.
Watanabe took New Balance's stylish 1906R running shoe and smashed it headfirst into a traditional dress loafer, marking a bold new chapter in his ongoing collaboration with the Boston sneaker brand. A glossy laceless upper made from mesh and leather sits atop a tread-loaded rubber sole. The design is both perplexing and alluring at once; the newest hit from a legendary collaborator who never hesitates to color outside the lines.
Watanabe's footwear stripes run deep and are as good as gold. In 1999, while working as a designer at mentor Rei Kawakubo's Comme des Garçons (where he began as a pattern cutter in 1984 and continues to operate his eponymous label under the CDG umbrella), Watanabe played a significant role in the house’s initial partnerships with Nike.
The first sneaker to come out of the collaboration was the Nike Zoom Haven, an obscure cross-training shoe with a highly streamlined silhouette. The next few years resulted in riffs on the sci-fi-looking Air Kukini, the ultra-lightweight Superfly and the vividly colored Waffle Racer. Each design was more head-turning than the last, leaving a lasting impact on the growing world of sneaker culture, while inspiring a new wave of innovative designs and appreciation for envelope-pushing footwear.
All told, it was clear Nike had a hit-making designer with international appeal in their camp. Even two decades later, Watanabe-designed Nikes remain as covetable as ever. Take A$AP Nast, an avid collector. "It started my love for collecting unique Comme pieces. From there, it was like wildfire," the hip-hop star recalled of the time he saw Junya Watanabe boots in a local consignment shop. The Swoosh also understood Watanabe's power in thrusting a silhouette further into the spotlight. His golden touch meant that if the company wanted a reissue like Foamposites or Dunk Highs to make a splash, they’d better call Junya.
Throughout the early 2000s, Watanabe frequently collaborated with Nike, but he found a new partner in New Balance for the 2010s and into the 2020s. His initial collaborations included the M1700 and the 1600, both monochromatic white interpretations of casual sneakers. In recent years, he has continued in a similar vein, introducing the monochromatic leather and suede RC42, the all-black 650 and the versatile grey 574, among many others. However, not all of his New Balance designs are devoid of color. When he lent his touch to the RC30, the sneaker arrived in ultramarine blue and another in multi-colored panels with a generous dose of highlighter yellow. To much acclaim, the designer also recently partnered with Oakley on a sleek leather slip-on and a backless mule.
Watanabe occasionally introduces brand-new sneaker designs for his collaborators, too. In 2022, he designed the Niobium Concept 2, a two-way outdoor sandal with a tough-wearing Vibram sole produced in partnership with New Balance's Tokyo Design Studio. The sandal features a detachable heel strap that enables the transition from sandals to mules, while the sole is borrowed from one of the brand's beloved trail running shoes, the Fresh Foam Hierro.
None of Watanabe's previous hybrid designs, however, have generated as many waves as the 1906L has. "We anticipated it would cause a conversation externally, but we couldn't have predicted the scale of the reaction," a senior New Balance designer said shortly after the silhouette’s debut. "The memes have been the ultimate compliment." Still, memes aside, the new 1906L is a sharp combination of street and sartorial that hints at where men's footwear may be headed.
The past few cycles in contemporary footwear have flown from chunky dad shoes to ultra-technical hiking sneakers to a simple reset with clean low-tops like adidas Sambas and German Army Trainers. With the 1906L, the designer is proposing something altogether different: a fusion of athletic comfort with a dash of formal style. It just turns out that combination comes with a more radical look.
This forward-looking idea introduced into the menswear lexicon comes with loud reactions. Think of the polarizing response of Demna's Balenciaga Triple S when it first emerged in 2017. But if anyone has proven that they're designing ahead of the curve, it’s Watanabe. For years, people have speculated on whether sneaker culture has hit a plateau, paving the way for a brown shoe resurgence. With its 1906R loafer, the Japanese design legend and New Balance collectively ask, “Why can’t we have both?”
Explore the resurgence of big boots and the Comme des Garçons runway show that changed style and art forever.