Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 is a line of shoes released by

Onitsuka Tiger is a Japanese fashion brand started in 1949 by Onitsuka Co., Ltd., a sports shoe company founded by . Onitsuka Co., Ltd. would later merge with two other companies to become Asics Corporation in 1977, and Onitsuka Tiger has since then been sold ...

in 1966. The shoe was first developed to be used by athletes for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. This is the first shoe to use the trademark "Tiger Stripes" that would be featured in Onitsuka Tiger and Asics shoes.

Overview

The origins of the shoe can be traced back to Onitsuka Tiger wanting to develop a flagship shoe to strengthen the company's brand. It did not have a well known shoe that could compete and help represent the company like some of its competitors from

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

or Puma. It released the shoe two years before the Olympics in order to build buzz and the success of the athletes in competitions led to more athletes and even the Japanese national team using the shoes during the games.

In popular culture

The shoe became popular after its use in the

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

film, ''

Game of Death ''Game of Death'' () is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, of which portions were filmed between September and October 1972, and was planned and scheduled to be released by 1973, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee. Th ...

'', where he wore a yellow and black pair. The popularity of the film led to the shoe becoming popular outside of the running world and enter the mainstream market. The shoe would see a second boost in popularity with the release of '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' where the main character wore them as an homage to Bruce Lee's original film. The early 2020s saw the shoe be cemented as a staple of sneaker culture with many celebrities and young consumers buying the shoes for its unique silhouette and fashionable colors. The resurgence of the shoe has helped Onitsuka Tiger and Asics compete with companies like Nike and Adidas in the lifestyle market.

References

External links

* {{Asics Asics Products introduced in 1966 1960s fashion 1970s fashion 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 2020s fashion