There’s no higher co-sign in fashion than a collaboration with Comme des Garçons—especially in the world of sneakers, where co-branded labels are ubiquitous and often superfluous. But Rei Kawakubo and her team always find unexpected ways to reimagine products from other labels. For Holiday ’14, Bata Tennis, an obscure sneaker brand that got its start in 1894 in what is now the Czech Republic, will get the Comme dot treatment.
“We greatly admire authenticity, simplicity, and tradition. Bata Tennis is the perfect epitome of these things,” said Adrian Joffe, CEO of Comme des Garçons. Two versions of Bata’s classic shoe will be released, both featuring a black polka-dot print on white canvas.
“Doing collaborations isn’t really in Bata’s culture,” Charles Pignal, great-grandson of Bata’s founder, told Style.com. “But this relaunched classic shoe seemed like a great opportunity. I don’t think we ever seriously discussed any brand other than Comme des Garçons. We pitched them the project, they liked the shoe and its authentic story, and they agreed to work with us. Comme des Garçons was so clear in what they wanted to bring to the shoe. Our product development manager told me he’d rarely seen such a precise approach from an external source. It was incredibly exciting for us to work on something new and unexpected like this. I hope that customers will be just as excited. And surprised.”
The Bata Tennis CdG sneakers will be available December 4 at Dover Street Market locations.
