This has been a huge year for Onitsuka Tiger. The brand turned 75 and the anniversary celebrations kicked off all the way back in February with the showcase of its fall/winter 2024 collection during Milan Fashion Week. To commemorate its founding in 1949, the collection featured 49 men’s and women’s looks. Now that the pieces have dropped in stores, our August 2024 digital cover star Benjamin Kheng, making his Fashion Week debut, took the clothes and shoes out for a spin in the Italian city.
The collection is titled Urban Winter and is inspired by the Tokyo cityscape in the cold. Against metropolitan tones of grey, black, beige and camel, the brand’s signature yellow serves as a bold accent. One of the collection’s most memorable motifs is the wet-coating effect, inspired by the sudden thunderstorms that would lash the Japanese capital in winter and leave its streets streaked and glistening with water. For efficient city living, the pieces are designed with comfort, lightness and mobility in mind. Tailoring is cut with wide shoulders and narrow waists; trousers come roomy and extra long. There are also chinos and 5-pocket styles that inject a more dressed-down vibe into the collection.
The key styling piece is a ribbed-knit, zip-neck wool dickey that can be worn as a new kind of scarf, or as a crop top for the daring. Rounding out the collection are essentials that have been elevated and made special, such as the ribbed knit tees and polo shirts in multicoloured stripes, and the soft knits built to twist around the body. There are also hoodies, puffers and knitted tank tops that make for effortless layering pieces.
In Milan, Benjamin sported looks that bridged classic elegance with a contemporary edge. There was a sleek elongated black coat, worn with a sliver of skin peeking through and the WIGURVE shoes in high-shine black, which gave the outfit the right balance of casual and sophisticated. The TIGER POINTY creepers in white and brown absolutely popped when paired with a slouchy tan suit. Last but not least, Benjamin showed off a striped ribbed knit shirt and the wet-coating trousers in wool—a perfect ensemble for transitional weather and navigating urban environments.
Discover more of the Onitsuka Tiger fall/winter 2024 collection here.
Photographer & Videographer ENRICO TABACCHI
Stylist JEFFREY YAN
Grooming ZOEL TEE