Collaborations
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI "POSTAL SERVICE"
11 July 2024Linking up with London’s Maharishi for the first time, SneakersbeShops present their collaborative 7-piece offering “Postal Service”, inspired by traditional Japanese postal uniforms and the history of the service in the country.
First established between Kyoto and Tokyo in 1871, the rise of the modern Japanese postal service coincided with the rapid industrialisation and societal reorganisation that the Meiji period symbolised for Japan. Referencing the nuanced history of the postal service, from the Kawakura period to the Meiji period, SneakersbeShops and Maharishi deliver a collection that honours the vital impact the service had in Japan.
Featuring imagery of Japanese express couriers – known as hikyaku – who carried letters and documents by hand from the Kamakura period to the Edo period, SneakersbeShops and Maharishi combine their modern streetwear sensibility with a dose of historic Japanese design. Renowned for their speed and tireless work ethic, hikyaku couriers were identified by their bamboo pole letter carriers, almost nude appearance and jingling wind chimes, attached to the pole to warn passers-by of their approach. Combining a traditional woodblock style print featuring hikyaku, from guest artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849), with embroidered original renderings of Mount Fuji, postage stamp graphics, and the 23rd Shield insignia that nods to Japanese postal service emblems from the 20th century, the collection’s artworks offer an abridged insight into the distinctive eras of Japan’s remarkable courier service.
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI "POSTAL SERVICE"
Made up of a selection of essential Maharishi pieces, with a focus on their Kimono jacket and Original Snopants®, the “Postal Service” collection sees SneakersbeShops transform the British brand’s iconic stylistic approach with bespoke capsule details. Emblazoned with a meticulous embroidered rendering of the Pax Cultura Temple and Mount Fuji in a woodblock print style, both the Kimono and Snopants® are cast in black and constructed from Italian linen ripstop fabric, complete with gold embroidery to add a flourish of Maharishi’s signature style.
The Sling Bag, T-Shirts and Boonie Hat are made complete with a crisp red embroidered 23rd postal seal logo, dressed in a colour combination referencing that of traditional Japanese postal uniforms, while the Hikyaku Courier longsleeve t-shirt and the Mount Fuji Stamp t-shirt added a final further inflection of postal service inspiration.
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI MOUNT FUJI EMBROIDERED KIMONO
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI MOUNT FUJI EMBROIDERED SNOPANTS®
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI "POSTAL SERVICE" 23RD SEAL LOGO
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI "POSTAL SERVICE" JERSEY TEES
SneakersbeShops X MAHARISHI "POSTAL SERVICE"
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