Onitsuka Tiger - Unisex-Adult Tiger Corsair Sneaker

Product Information

In remembrance of Onituska, ASICS released “100th Birthday Commemorative” models on May 29, 2018. The products were designed with a sunflower that Onitsuka painted. This line includes the ASICS’ GEL-QUANTUM™ 360 KO100, the ASICS Tiger GEL-MAI™ KO100 and the Onitsuka Tiger CORSAIR™ KO100 running shoes, as well as a line of apparel. The future of ASICS Few shoes have created such a seismic shift in the sneaker business. A court later decreed that both Onitsuka and Nike could sell the Cortez model. Nike retained the shoe’s original name, while Tiger dubbed their version the ‘Corsair’.

Fast forward to 1994, Nike is continuing to dominate the sneaker market. It also saw the release of one of, if not the, biggest sneaker moments in history. The film ‘Forrest Gump’ starring Tom Hanks saw a scene in which the main character, Forrest, is given a pair of the classic Nike’s by his love interest, Jennie. The scene is perfect product placement and sees Forrest going onto run across the United States wearing the sneaker, further advertising the running benefits they still held. Takahashi, a Japanese long-distance runner, wore ASICS Marathon SORTIE JAPAN to win a gold medal in the international women's marathon. 2. Stefano Baldini and Muzuki Noguchi, 2004.During the late ‘60s, the Cortez wasn’t made of leather as we know it today. During its time being manufactured by Blue Ribbon Sports and Tiger, the shoe was made out of nylon resin that aimed to create a lightweight feel that still provides the ample support needed for a long-distance running sneaker. In an advert seen from this time by BRS (Blue Ribbon Sports), they call the technology ‘Swoosh Fiber’. While this is not mentioned as an inspiration behind the Nike ‘Swoosh’ we all know today, the name does seem to reference the iconic Nike logo in a way that seems too close to be a coincidence. For one of the company's first shoe models, Onitsuka found inspiration in a dish of octopus salad. He compared the shoe's grip to the suction power of an octopus tentacle. With this strength, the shoe allowed athletes to elevate their game. It was named "Onitsuka Tiger". While 2018 saw two further colourways of the Lamar x Cortez amongst a myriad of additional colourways and collaborations, including Stranger Things in 2019, the sneaker once again began to wain in mainstream popularity. Italian international men's gold medalist Stefano Baldini and Japanese international women’s marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi wore ASICS' marathon shoes. 3. Saori Yoshida, 2012.

Despite the name change, Onitsuka Tiger does still use the ‘Mexico’ name in their ‘Mexico 66’ running sneaker, perhaps a nod to the original 1966 TG-24. Before Nike, came Blue Ribbon Sports. Founded by Phil Knight and the Olympic running coach Bill Bowerman, Blue Ribbon Sports was working alongside Onitsuka Tiger to distribute their sneakers within the US from Japan (a story best told within Phil Knight’s book ‘Shoe Dog’). After the duo had worked with Onitsuka Tiger (who also owns ASICS) for two years, Bowerman was allowed to utilise his designs and release a marathon-running sneaker of his own in conjunction with the Japanese brand. Finally, in 1974, the court case between Nike and Onitsuka Tiger was passed in favour of Nike, allowing them to continue with the ‘Cortez’ name, but ruling that both brands were still able to create a product with the same silhouette. As such, Tiger changed the name of their variant to “Tiger Corsair” which is still available today. While the Cortez was a staple within the running community, 1976 saw it explode into pop culture. In an episode of Charlie’s Angels, the actress Farah Fawcett can be seen skating in a women’s version of the leather Nike Cortez titled the ‘Señorita Cortez’. Following the release, sales of the women’s sizing of the sneaker grew massively, with the image of Fawcett becoming iconic not only in Nike’s history, but sneaker history as a whole. Who is Kihachiro Onitsuka? Onitsuka was a military veteran who eventually decided to venture into the shoe business. He began making footwear for top athletes under the business name "Onitsuka Co." This company started small with just a handful of employees and initially sought to produce basketball shoes.

Countless colourways and iterations of the Cortez have been released over the years, including a magnitude of colourways and materials as well as other combinations similar to Sir Elton John’s mashup with Fragment creating the Roshe Cortez in 2015 which combined the Cortez and now infamous Roshe Run and even a high top chukka variant of the Cortez releasing the same year.