In Japanese culture, Zori are traditional sandals that are made of various materials, including straw, cloth, lacquered wood, or synthetic materials. Usually worn with Kimono or Yukata, they are also used in many pre-schools as they are known to be health-beneficial and support foot development in children.

Though it remains an unconventional pick in modern fashion, Whole Love Kyoto’s hopes on preserving the traditional craft has led to the birth of “HANAO SHOES”, a never-before-seen silhouette that combines essence of both zori and sneakers.

Utilizing a lace-up construction as its base, sandal straps comes attached above the lacing system, adding a simple yet unique look to the classic sneaker fit. Looking to various materials and dyeing techniques, the label reaches out to manufacturers from respective prefectures of the country to create a total of 47 variations of the footwear.

All pairs are slated to be made available via a pop-up at two BEAMS JAPAN outlets, where customers can pre-order the pair of their choice and also purchase selected products by Whole Love Kyoto. The installment will run from March 8 to 22 at BEAMS JAPAN Kyoto, and April 5 to 18 at BEAMS JAPAN Shinjuku.

In other sneaker-related news, check out the END. x Reebok Club C “Stout”.