Vaquera Updates Onitsuka Tiger’s Mexico 66 Sneakers at Paris Fashion Week Show
Ten-year-old New York-based fashion label Vaquera just revealed its first footwear collaboration at its spring 2025 runway show in Paris on Monday.
According to the label’s creative directors Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee, they’ve teamed up with the Onitsuka Tiger to put a spin on the Japanese shoemaker’s iconic Mexico 66 silhouette.
For this collab, DiCaprio and Taubensee traveled to Japan to visit Onitsuka Tiger’s factories and archive, putting the brand’s signature subversive spin on the footwear brand’s classic style. The result is a hand-washed, distressed and painted sneaker designed to appear worn in. The sneakers were seen on the runway in a metallic silver colorway as well as the shoe’s iconic yellow color. Plus, the tongues of the sneakers say “Love” and “Rage” to help illustrate the Vaquera ethos of ambivalence and passion.
“We really appreciate Onitsuka Tiger’s attention to detail and dedication to quality and design,” DiCaprio and Taubensee told FN in an interview. “We visited their factories and wash houses in Japan, where we were able to see this firsthand. We love to put our spin on iconic styles and the Mexico 66 has such a strong history and identity.”
While this new collaboration is exciting, consumers will have to wait to get their hands on a pair of Vaquera x Onitsuka Tiger sneakers. According to the designers, this first collaboration will not be produced commercially but is an “indicator” of a larger collaboration between the two brands to come. No further details are known at this time as DiCaprio and Taubensee declined to comment further on the budding relationship between Vaquera and Onitsuka Tiger.
As for the rest of Vaquera’s collection, the duo wrote in their show notes that this season was “inspired by ‘80s and ‘90s fashion designers, who saw fashion as a medium for poetic self-expression.”
With an established DNA and lens, the designer’s focus has shifted to wearability and the idea of “New Basics”. With 10 years, there is less starting over, and more perfecting of concepts and ideas into easy to wear and easy to buy Vaquera essentials.
For spring/summer ‘25, an existing idea of subversion is re-considered. With traditional signifiers diluted and changed, Vaquera looks to new ones such as American sportswear and perceived traditional measures of success and luxury, considered through a futuristic lens. The collection sees many new firsts such as Vaquera shoes and accessories.