Following a string of great releases from the Japanese company over the last couple of years, as well as our collaboration on the Sky Medal back in February, we wanted to take a dive into the sportswear giants acclaimed past and share their humble beginnings.
Osaka, 1906.
Mizuno was founded in 1906 after the founder Rihaci Mizuno returned from the US and was inspired by his love for baseball. His initial goal was to try and generate interest for baseball Japan, but over the next seven decades, they expanded their offering greatly, creating equipment and clothing for tennis, golf, skiing, track and field, boxing, football, and less widely played sports like handball.
Mizuno isn’t just a brand, and continuously throughout their existence, they have dedicated itself to scientific research and manufacturing improvement, with the aim of creating the best products for its consumers. The continuous search for the best product, the best quality, the best performance, and the constant attention to the smallest details, have made the efforts in production and technological research lead to continuous innovation, constantly challenging themselves in achieving better results, for the future.
The 1970s’ international running boom saw Mizuno dedicating itself to meticulous scientific footwear research, and during the 1980s, Mizuno made developments that would contribute to making the brand what it is today. This would eventually lead to the creation of Mizuno’s most well-known technology: the Mizuno Wave Technology.
In the same years, the graphic emblem of the Mizuno brand, now known throughout the world, the RunBird, made its first appearance. It is more than just a logo to decorate shoes, clothing and equipment. The RunBird symbolises Mizuno’s belief in the Japanese concept of a universal approach to sport with unlimited space and energy.
Mizuno Wave Rider 1 OG
Mizuno Sky Medal OG
Mizuno Court Select OG
Volleyball in the 90s was dominated by a model that is now considered part of Mizuno’s DNA, the original Court Select, a shoe with an unmistakable aesthetic and powerful performance, introduced in the 1994 catalogue alongside a range dedicated to volleyball.
Mizuno Mondo Control OG
The Mondo Control OG comes straight from the 1995 Running Catalogue. In 1995 Mizuno was ready to conquer the performance running market and the Mondo Control already had all the technical qualities required. Mizuno pays tribute to the era in which this technological race began, travelling through its running archive, with a look to the future.
Mizuno Wave Rider 10 OG
Since the first launch of the Wave Rider, Mizuno’s research and development team has worked tirelessly to improve the shoe year after year. In 2007 Mizuno conducted a consumer study on the buying habits of runners called Kansei Engineering. All the feedback went straight into the development of the Wave Rider 10, a shoe that embodies Mizuno’s pursuit of perfection. Its aggressive appearance and Japanese innovation strike the perfect balance between quality, aesthetics and technical performance.
Kazoku.
In Mizuno’s ongoing search for perfection, the brand looked for like-minded people who put excellence above all else, and brought together some of the leading names in the sneaker game to be part of Kazoku - Japanese for “family”. The result was the Kazoku project, launched in 2018, which aims to establish partnerships with major sneaker stores around the world using a variety of archive models.
Mizuno’s Kazoku division focuses on working with names close to the company, and is the highest expression of the Mizuno Sportstyle brand, and as such represents its values and upholds its ideals.
Being part of the Mizuno Kazoku symbolises not only a close-knit group of people with a deep passion and knowledge of sneakers but above all a select group of true Mizuno enthusiasts who are at the forefront of the Mizuno movement.
You can shop our Mizuno offering here, and stay tuned for the latest Sky Medal release which will be arriving on August 22nd, with more information on that coming soon!
