Sean Wotherspoon, the designer and vintage clothing pioneer who helped start the groundbreaking Round Two boutique chain, is returning to the sneaker scene this month with a new collaboration — his first footwear venture with Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company Mizuno.
The Sean Wotherspoon x Mizuno Wave MG4 LS will be offered in two colorways: Estate Blue/White and Gray/Black/Beige. The former is reminiscent of Wotherspoon’s prior work, blending a stonewashed indigo denim with hickory stripe denim overlays and accents of navy blue, red and yellow. The multicolor look is contrasted by a more restrained Japan-exclusive Gray/Black/Beige style which features a gray denim base and the same hickory stripe overlays found on the Estate Blue colorway.
According to Mizuno’s official product description, Wotherspoon’s Wave MG4 LS collaboration is “inspired by lifestyles that move seamlessly between urban and natural environments” by blending “vintage-inspired design elements with exceptional versatility.”
The sneaker’s use of textile is reminiscent of Wotherspoon’s past footwear designs including his most celebrated to date, the Nike Air Max 1/97, which was first released in 2017 before receiving a wider launch during Air Max Day 2018.
Wotherspoon’s Air Max 1/97 featured a Light Blue Fury/Lemon Wash colorway which combined pastel shades of green, purple, blue, pink, gray and yellow across an upper fully constructed from corduroy. Wotherspoon would later revisit this theme on a 2020 Gel-Lyte 3 collaboration with Asics before beginning a multiyear collaboration with Adidas.
Now based in Tokyo and Los Angeles, Wotherspoon’s eponymous SWJP brand taps co-designer and co-creative director Ryunosuke Uchida (Uchi) for help not only with the product, but its accompanying look book.
The Sean Wotherspoon x Mizuno Wave MG4 LS will be released Oct. 30 for $170. The collaboration’s Gray/Black/Beige colorway will be released exclusively in Japan.