Mishka have been floating the streetwear boat for well over five years now, and in that time have created waves on an independent scale like no other brand. Without keeping to one aesthetic or boxing themselves in as a ‘brand for the streets’ the creators have taken their time to even consider opening up a brick and mortar store – why would they when their distribution of product has turned a small penny into a stack of bills.
With The Hundreds rocking two locales on the Westside with THLA (Los Angeles) and THSF (San Fran) and Supreme holding it down on both coasts of the US, Mishka have upped the ante with two new stores opening in LA and this past weekend, Tokyo. It’s a bold move for a brand that has to contend with the likes of BAPE and NBHD to name a few, but one look at Mishka’s product as well as their strong ties to the Asian market, all bets point to this store doing mad business in the future.
I was lucky enough to chat to the fellas at Mishka last year as they were preparing to launch their first shoe collaboration with indie brand Adio and even back then they were hinting of things to come. As they stated, ‘We’ve always been huge fans of Japanese culture since our teens; the cartoons, toys, movies, music and fashion. The Japanese have this way of filtering and reprocessing American pop culture which is truly amazing and next to impossible to do unless you’re Japanese! Personally I think Tokyo is the only other city I could see myself living in besides NYC. I love the culture and the people. They are some of the most creative hard-working people that I know. I am also a huge fan of Kaiju soft vinyl. Big things coming for Mishka out of Japan!’
Well indeed there are! You can drop by the new store in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward if you’re fortunate enough to be repping or holidaying in Japan. Someone needs to fly me over stat to check it all out! Don’t forget though, you can cop all your Mishka needs online directly here.
Mishka Japan
3-28-5 Jingumae Shibuya
Tokyo
Photos by Brandon Shigeta