PLEATS PLEASE by Issey Miyake x Native Shoes Unveil Summer 2014 Collaboration

Summer fashion tends to revolve around ease and, when doing something active, no footwear choice is quite as convenient as a pair of slip-on sneakers. Sure, sandals are adorable and they let your feet breathe — and allow you to show off your flirty pedicure — but they’re hardly the perfect choice for playing frisbee in the park, bicycling through dirt roads and quaint cobblestone paths, or walking through vast amusement parks. For these occasions, you’ll need the coverage and support of a sneaker, but that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your sense of style or, for that matter, keep your feet confined inside  unventilated, oven-like, sauna-like contraptions. Enter Native Shoes, the brand that specialized in feather light shoes with a minimalist and ultra modern aesthetic.

Their slip-on Jericho shoes offer the shock absorbent features you need to run and jump, but they’re also lightweight and offer excellent mobility thanks to their molded EVA uppers, superbly breathable thanks to their cleverly perforated uppers, completely waterproof, and machine washable. I’m particularly fond of the machine washable feature since, as any collector can attest to, keeping sneakers looking crispy can typically be quite the endeavor, involving hours of scrubbing tiny crevices with an old toothbrush.

For Summer 2014, Native Shoes collaborated with PLEATS PLEASE Issey Miyake, a brand known for its vibrant use of colors and boundary-pushing design approach, on a capsule collection available in the United States, Japan, and Native’s E-Store.

To create the PLEATS PLEASE x Native Shoes collection, both brands’ design teams began by using the classic Jericho slip-on silhouette and, using the color palette of the Native Spring/Summer 2014 footwear range, masterminded interesting color combinations that would feel bold and yet fluid, two paradoxical design elements that PLEATS PLEASE always seems to successfully fuse together.

The PLEATS PLEASE x Native Shoes Jericho slip-ons are available in three color-blocked styles that feature one hue all along the front, the tongue, and the eyelets and a contrasting hue along the heel counter. The three color offerings are: Cantaloupe Pink/Crayon Yellow, Fresco Green/Shell White, and Jiffy Black/Galaxy Blue. Each shoe retails for $65 at Shop.NativeShoes.com.