A lineage of collaboration spun from Mizuno's legendary "Three Feet High" skate shoes.

Have you ever heard of the legendary "Three Feet High" skate shoes once released by Mizuno? It was developed as the first signature model for Yoshifumi Egawa (YOPPI), director of Ombre Nino and designer for XLarge, and was produced by Setsumasa Kobayashi of ..... Setsumasa Kobayashi of "Research" produced and Skate Thing designed the model. What was behind the creation of this fantastic model that brought together the sensibilities of Tokyo? We interviewed Naoki Yamamoto (NAOKI) of Seihalo, a Mizuno collaborator with a deep knowledge of the street culture of the time, and asked him directly about the person responsible for the creation of the model, Mr. Egawa. How did the dots of "Three Feet High" become lines, and how have they been passed down to the present? We will discuss the legendary project and ongoing collaborations such as the recently released "XLarge" x "Mizuno," and look at the appeal of Mizuno as a sports manufacturer.

Photo_Shunsuke Shiga

Text_Maruro Yamashita

Edit_Hiroshi Yamamoto

The enthusiasm for skateboarding,
It led to an unexpected miracle.

YOPPI:For myself, I would have said, "What? Mizuno? Are you serious?" I was like, "Really? At the time, no one had any experience in making skate shoes, so I was really groping my way around. We had no experience even in verifying the hardness of the sole. I'm sorry to say this, but it was kind of random (laughs).

I can say this now, but skateboarding itself is not yet recognized as a sport, and I am not in that dimension. I'm not making any slander (laughs). It's a fact. Mizuno's side is still in a state of uncertainty as to what will happen to skateboarding in the future.

Only Mr. Kobayashi, who was in between us, had the foresight to see things through.

I see.

YOPPI:In the meantime, I remember that we released the second version and it was a slippery slope. I was really groping my way through it!

Nowadays, sports manufacturers are participating in skateboarding shoes, but that was a long time ago, wasn't it?

YOPPI:It was quick. But you really have to keep at it. I think you have to keep playing basketball and baseball, but skateboarding is the same. You can't tell much from just a few times.

It was like, "Oh, it's over. It wasn't enough, but it was a good experience. I learned for the first time how the hardness of the sole affects the grip of the skateboard. No one taught me that.

NAOKI:Vaguely, those shoes seem to be in good shape! It was a time when I was just vaguely thinking, "That shoe seems to be in good shape! It was a time when I was trying to find shoes on the market that would go well with skateboarding. By the way, how old were you then?

YOPPI:I think I'm 22 or 23 years old. I'm a fucking kid (laughs). I was really just a kid. But I had enthusiasm, and adults picked up on that, and a miracle happened. Because Eric Clapton came to buy shoes made by a little brat like me. I'm sorry, I'm just bragging (laughs).

Clapton, that Clapton?

YOPPI:That's right. They saw the magazine "Boon" that featured these shoes, found the store through a Japanese agent, and contacted me directly. At the time, I had no idea how great Clapton was, so I just told Hiroshi (Fujiwara) that Clapton was coming.

NAOKI:Clapton is quite knowledgeable about Tokyo street culture, isn't he? Was YOPPI the entry point for you?

YOPPI:Probably me. He has always liked graffiti art. He had been buying works by STASH and Futura since then. He noticed "Three Feet High," which uses graffiti designs on shoes. He looked it up at a time when there was no Internet, called me directly, and he actually came to the store.

NAOKI:Oh, you came to the store?

YOPPI:Yes. And they also wear "Three Feet High" to live shows.