A Closer Look at the adidas Y-3 Kusari & Saikou Sneakers

Since its inception in 2003, Yohji Yamamoto and adidas’s Y-3 collaboration has led the way in the luxury sportswear space, taking equal cues from both luxury fashion and technical sportswear. For Spring/Summer 2018, Y-3 has continued its tradition in innovation by releasing two new sneakers, Kusari and Saikou, that represent exciting new developments in Y-3 footwear.

adidas Y-3 Saikou

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First spotted on the runway in Paris last June, Saikou represents the first time that Y-3 has exclusively used adidas’s Boost technology. Rather than take an existing Boost sole, though, Y-3 has instead created its own unique Boost sole unit in-keeping with the shoe’s minimal aesthetic. The upper also employs one of adidas’s most recent innovations, Primeknit, but creates a completely new structure using complex overlays and underlays. The result is a sock-like fit that wraps the foot for adaptive support, finished with a contrasting suede toe-cap.

Released a week prior to the Saikou, the adidas Y-3 Kusari sneaker also made its debut on the Paris runway and shares several design features with the Saikou. Kusari is built on the same adidas Boost midsole as the Saikou. Instead of a Primeknit upper, the Kusari features a synthetic stretch mesh upper with suede and leather detailing at the toe and ankle. The Kusari notably features a unique, anchored lacing system designed to provide extra stability but which also adds to the sneaker’s graphic aesthetic.