Modernity and lightness in Onitsuka Tiger's SS21 collection

The campaign of the new SS21 collection by Onitsuka Tiger signed by Andrea Pompilio is set in a beach beaten by the wind – a perfect environment to bring to light the qualities of the silhouettes and materials that the Italian designer has conceived for the next spring season. A collection that follows different paths of inspiration, each of which has been given a name, but which all come together in the fluid movement and clean lines of the fabric that sways in harmony with the air. The color palette selected by Pompilio, then, blends in shades such as orange, sax blue and black in more vintage colors such as burgundy and turquoise.

The first concept that Pompilio explored is called The Sailing Kite and consists of a design composed of fabric parts with a washer finish combined with zigzag seams with a lightness reminiscent of the sails of a ship. The second theme was called The Clean Lines and inspired the construction in a special elastic and brilliant nylon twill of many of the items in the collection. A third thematic area that Pompilio addressed in his creative process was the reinterpretation of vintage archive models by Onitsuka Tiger, whose codes were rewritten in light of the needs of contemporary life, and which is called The Vintage Is Now. Finally, The Working Progress theme influenced the creation of workwear style garments decorated with profiles and layered designs on light fabric bases. 

The recombination of archive silhouettes with contemporary elements continues also in the footwear sector, with three new sneaker models. The first is called Acromount, featuring a leather and fabric tomy, and is inspired by the Onistuka Tiger models of the 1970s; this is followed by the Dentigre MX which represents an evolution of the homonymous model seen during the FW20 show of the brand but hybridizing it with vintage elements. The third and final silhouette to be presented is also the most particular: inspired by the traditional tai-chi shoes, and precisely called Tai-Chi-Reb Sock MT, it is a thin-looking sneaker that features the Onitsuka Tiger Stripes sewn into the upper to make them one with the foot. 

A collection that marks a further step in that prodigious work of rewriting and translating the identity of the brand carried out since the arrival of Andrea Pompilio three years ago. Since the beginning of his tenure as creative director of Onitsuka Tiger, in fact, Pompilio wanted to liven up the designs kept in the brand's ten-year archive and reinterpret them in a new perspective, aimed at the world of design and fashion. As the designer himself explained to nss magazine:

«My concept is always to start from the history of the brand that invented and developed sportswear but without ever presenting something too sporty because Onitsuka Tiger is not an athletic brand but a fashion brand».