Singer Conan Gray Fronts Onitsuka Tiger’s Fall Campaign Featuring the Mexico 66 + More Sneakers
American singer Conan Gray is the face of Onitsuka Tiger’s new autumn/winter 2024 campaign.
According to the Japanese fashion brand, Gray – who is an ambassador for Onitsuka Tiger – is seen in a series of images captured in a retro atmosphere in Los Angeles.
Known for his multi-platinum hits “Heather” and “Maniac,” Gray’s debut album Kid Krow reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart and became the biggest new artist debut of 2020. In 2022, his sophomore album Superache became his second Top 10 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart and charted in the top 10 in Australia, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, to name a few. His third studio album, Found Heaven, is out now.
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary month of Onitsuka Tiger, Gray is styled in a mix of archive items such as track tops with the newest collection, expressing the brand’s evolution from a sports brand to fashion brand while respecting its origin.
Some of the brand’s most iconic shoes are also seen in the campaign. Highlights include the Mexico 66 model, as well as the Mexico Mid Runner, X-Caliber sneaker and Bit Loafer.
The campaign visuals are available on the Onitsuka Tiger’s social media channels.
This news comes after the brand opened the doors to the Hotel Onitsuka Tiger in Paris last month. Conceived as a multipurpose space hosting cultural, lifestyle and fashion-leaning activations, the space was open in tandem with the Paris Olympics and was meant to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary. The brand also noted that the location will be home to a new Onitsuka Tiger flagship in the city, bowing in 2025.
Honoring the brand’s ties with its hometown, a second celebratory activation was also held in Tokyo last month. At this event, the brand hosted a photographic exhibition of 75 archival footwear styles, as well as a showcase of artworks inspired by the brand’s DNA.
After working as a salaryman, or white-collar worker, for three years post-World War II, founder Onitsuka established the brand in 1949 moving from the belief that sports could foster body and mind and fuel growth and progression for Japanese youth. Onitsuka Tiger’s first footwear design was a basketball sneaker with enhanced grip, with which a Japanese high school team won a local championship.
The brand kicked off celebrations with the release, earlier this year, of an anniversary collaboration with Astro Boy, the first anime TV series in Japan, comprising ready to wear and footwear, in addition to opening a pop-up store in Tokyo’s Ginza.
Onitsuka Tiger is part of Japanese sportswear company Asics Corporation, a name established in 1977 to replace the former moniker Onitsuka Co. Ltd.