
Comme des Garçons' Rei Kawakubo unveils a new collaboration with Bata Tennis
Haute sneaks
Having previously collaborated with Louis Vuitton for its much-loved Iconoclasts 'Celebrating Monogram' project, Kawakubo is back – and this time she has revamped a Bata Tennis shoe.
The Bata shoes were invented in 1894, in what is now the Czech Republic but had been solely produced in Batanagar, India since 1936. However, last year the great-grandson of Bata founder Tomás Bata – Charles Pignal – relaunched the brand for the global marketplace. Pignal's revamp was a success, and Dover Street Market (DSM) in Tokyo were among the first to place an order for the new kicks – so it is fitting that DSM's owner Rei Kawakubo, and Comme des Garçons are the first fashion house to collaborate with Bata.
The Comme des Garçons and Bata design features Kawakubo's signature polka dots and comes in two varations (pictured above and below). They are priced at $120 and will be available CDG flagships worldwide, Dover Street Market locations, and Colette in Paris from the first week of December.