Onitsuka Tiger continues its 75th-anniversary celebrations in Paris and Tokyo. The sportswear label, originally the foundation of Asics, will temporarily occupy a mansion at 25 Champs-Elysées from July 22 to August 17, offering a range of experiential initiatives. Concurrently, from August 9 to 25, it will set up in Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya district at 6-14-2 Jingumae with a photographic retrospective showcasing its most iconic sneaker models, including the legendary Mexico 66 with their distinctive, ribbon-like stripes.
 

The celebrations began earlier this year with a collaboration featuring the iconic Japanese manga character Astro Boy, resulting in a capsule collection of apparel and footwear and dedicated pop-up stores. The festivities continued in February during Milan Fashion Week with a runway show orchestrated by Andrea Pompilio, the brand’s creative director since 2017. For the occasion, the windows of La Rinascente were adorned with the brand’s emblematic yellow, also famously worn by Uma Thurman in Onitsuka Tiger sneakers and tracksuit in Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill.

In Paris, the brand will take up residence this summer in the 19th-century mansion originally built for the Marquise de Païva at the lower end of the Champs-Elysées. It is here, in this exhibition space facing the world’s most famous avenue, that the Onitsuka Tiger flagship store will be inaugurated in July 2025. Meanwhile, during this summer period, the location will transform into the “Hotel Onitsuka Tiger,” offering an array of activities.

Decked out in its signature “Tiger” yellow, the venue will host a series of artist residencies, including Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, Franco-Japanese Maïa Barouh, who will curate a selection of local musicians, and artist Yutaro Inagaki, who will perform live art, with his works later installed in the upcoming flagship. Additionally, Japanese chef Yoji Tokuyoshi, based in Milan, will oversee the Yellow Tiger Café, where visitors can immerse themselves in Japanese culinary culture.

Furthermore, the venue will house an exhibition of footwear from the brand’s archives, charting its evolution over the decades, a photographic exhibition tracing its history, and an installation inspired by founder Kihachiro Onitsuka’s thoughts on the brand’s inception, according to a statement.

As a reminder, it was in 1949 that the young cobbler based in Kobe, nicknamed “the tiger,” launched his business making shoes specifically designed for sports by analyzing basketball players’ movements. Over the years, he gained notoriety, with his company becoming a leader in shoe construction. The brand evolved and was renamed Asics in 1978 (an acronym for Anima Sana In Corpore Sano). The Onitsuka Tiger label was later relaunched in the mid-1990s as a separate brand, notably leveraging the house’s archives.

Regarding the Tokyo celebrations from August 9 to 25, the label will feature a photographic exhibition of 75 pairs of archive Onitsuka Tiger shoes, along with the display of artworks and an installation dedicated to the latest collection. For the occasion, five exclusive pieces created for the anniversary will be unveiled.