This Isn't Even grounds' Final Form
They say that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. And the current state of sneakers is, yeah, quite weird. I mean, there's hardly a brand not making sneaker-loafers, of all things. This is the new normal!
In terms of shoes, the going has indeed gotten weird. But Mikio Sakabe turned pro long ago.
Sakabe is the founder of grounds, a Japanese brand that creates footwear so extreme that he prefers that you don't lump its oeuvre in with the "shoe market," thanks.
"The shoe market heavily polarizes in either casual or luxury. We wanted to create a brand that speaks within a fashion context without leaning too much on either category," Sakabe tells Highsnobiety. "grounds is structured to embrace various tastes while holding its identity at the same time, and that’s what makes it so unique."
Truly, the only unifying factor between grounds' many disparate creations is that they're all produced by grounds.
Behold the label's Fall/Winter 2025 collection, introduced as a Betsy Johnson-styled runway show during Paris Fashion Week in March.
grounds' massive sneakers mushroom out from atop even fatter sneakers (an extra set of laces dangle underfoot), thigh-high wooly pull-ons are perched atop upturned toes, and hiking boots are gargantuan enough to resemble elephant feet in both shape and scale.
Let there be no doubt that grounds is not working within any conventional "shoe market." And while sneaker-loafers may be the peak of weirdness for most other makers, the nutty newness envisioned for the new season is merely just the latest mutation of grounds' provocations. Things are only gonna get wilder.
Meanwhile, grounds' first-ever ready-to-wear collection, which debuted during the FW25 show, is shockingly sober by comparison. Its structured knitwear, ruched blazers, short skirts, and ribbed socks played the straight man to the wise guy that is grounds' knowingly unknowable footwear.
A complete grounds look is thus a sort of skewed business casual, with any iota of potential formality squashed beneath Sakabe's intentionally immense stompers.
"We design shoes starting from the outsoles and then the uppers," the designer explains. "We create new outsole silhouettes [almost] each season, each handmade in clay. Our clothing is designed based on the shoes, an extension of the footwear, so our designs are structured from the ground up."
You could say that grounds and Sakabe were also structured from the ground-up (or is that grounds-up?).
Sakabe, a former mathematics student, tirelessly and independently plugged away at the fashion biz even prior to launching his eponymous line in 2006. Unsung genius attracts itself: Three years later, Sakabe was sharing a showroom with an up-and-coming designer named Demna.
In 2018, Sakabe launched GIDDY UP, a prescient offering of sneakers so inventive that they could only be produced with 3D printing. GIDDY UP was renamed grounds a year later, having already established some of its signature shapes — emphasis on "shapes."
grounds' classics, like the bubbling Moopie and mildly trypophobic Jewelry, began life as what appeared to be overinflated Nike Vapormaxes. All of grounds' footwear models are named for their unique sole units, which have since been attached to fluid uppers as disparate as InstaPump Fury-likes, skate shoes, and yes, sneaker-loafers.
These are wild shoes by anyone's definition. grounds' work is as uncanny as any AI hallucination, where recognizable elements are mashed into a not-quite-right slurry. But grounds has the crucial human touch. Its design team is staffed by young creatives who each oversee their own brands, all hungry to create.
The grounds customer is similarly young and hungry. Hungry for something new.
"We ended up with our fandom in Tokyo, concentrating primarily on the younger generation," Sakabe says. Many grounds loyalists are of similar age to the vivacious youngs who once stalked the streets of Harajuku in knowingly lurid get-ups, hoping to get snapped for FRUiTS.
grounds' visibility came patiently but organically, fueled by word-of-mouth buzz. Momentum picked up year over year: Where grounds' biggest cosigns were once cult German designer Bernhard Willhelm and Antwerp Six boss Walter Van Beirendonck, it flirted with the mainstream in 2024 by collaborating with popstar Camilia Cabello.
"[The partnership] actually came about by her reaching out to us on Instagram," Sakabe recalls. "She was familiar with our collections and aesthetic."
This is the power of a singular, recognizable sense of self, only attainable by designers unafraid to go their own way. Cutting against the grain hardly guarantees you fame but it does allow you the freedom to find yourself. And if you have something of merit to say, well, maybe fame will follow. Not that Sakabe sweats such trivialities.
"We focus on the image we want to create, staying true to the grounds’ DNA and not the current trends," says Sakabe. "We’re more focused on how humans would look more interesting and unique, always looking at what could be the next possibility."
