Tiger On The Prowl

The Head of Onitsuka Tiger, Ryoji Shoda’s debut visit to India is indicative of the Fapanese brand’s grand plans on home turf

- By Shivangi Lolayekar

As India was closing in on a year of fashion highs with the introduction of global brands, mega luxurious shopping centres and a market hungry to take their style quotient many notches higher, Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese lifestyle conglomerate, was relishing the prospect. In a telling move, the Head of Onitsuka Tiger (since joining the parent company ASICS in 2011), Ryoji Shoda, made his debut visit to the country, to both savour Onitsuka Tiger's ongoing success in India as well as to chart the course ahead.

Under Shoda's leadership, OnitsukaTiger's achieved remarkable milestones. The first and, perhaps, most significant being the brand's transformation from a sportswear label to a globally acclaimed high-fashion brand. Then, the many iterations of the signature Mexico 66 to make it a universal hit-age and gender no bar. A noteworthy collaboration with Japanese manga series Astro Boy, and blowout immersive experiences at the Champs-Élysées in Paris and Tokyo, to celebrate 75 years of Onitsuka Tiger were happy additions. All of this besides putting the brand into the closets of everyone from Prince Williams to Hailey Bieber and establishing it as a mainstay on the Milan Fashion Week runway. The most exciting innovations, however, are yet to come and India now has a front row seat to the action.

How did you help take Onitsuka Tiger from being a sportswear label to a premium lifestyle brand?