#onitsukatiger #onitsuka #asics
Onitsuka Tiger is one of the oldest shoe companies in Japan, tracing its history back to the formation of Onitsuka Co Ltd in 1949 when 32-year-old former military officer Kihachiro Onitsuka started his company with the hopes of raising postwar youth self-esteem through athletics.
The brand was then abandoned and relaunched in 2002, capitalizing on the new trend of vintage sneakers. In 2003, Uma Thurman wore gold-colored Onitsuka Taichi sneakers with black stripes with her famous yellow outfit in the movie Kill Bill. By 2007, the brand had opened 23 standalone stores. In 2008, Onitsuka Tiger launched a premium series, Nippon Made. In 2009, to celebrate its 60-year anniversary, Onitsuka Tiger launched its history book Made of Japan. In 2015, Onitsuka Tiger partnered with US-based design company Bait to create a Bruce Lee series.
In 2017, sales of the brand grew by 20% to 31.9 billion yen. In July 2017, Onitsuka Tiger launched what it publicized as the first augmented reality sneakers, but was merely an app animating the shoe's logo on a phone screen.