Global luxury fashion house AMIRI, helmed by Mike Amiri and known primarily for its denim, continues its expansion into other categories going into 2024 — with one of those being footwear.
To learn more about the brand’s latest sneaker, the MA Runner, Hypebeast spoke with Fardin Hazratizadeh, AMIRI’s head of footwear and the designer behind the shoe.
During the conversation, Hazratizadeh expressed how fun it’s been working closely with Mike to build out the category and that the brand aims to compete with heritage brands.
Touching on design, Hazratizadeh shared “We were aiming for a bold/exaggerated running silhouette, which meant that we needed to go all out with the sole design. The sole unit is the most advanced and technical design for myself and the brand — which consists of seven molded parts.”
He further explained that inspiration for the outsole design comes from the letters “M” and “A,” which can be visibly seen at the toe and heel respectively. Other notable details include the decision for each surface to be a different texture, adding an element of depth to the silhouette — materials include different mesh sizes, suede and Nubuck leather.
“For the upper, our goal was to bring in a new and sporty vibe while keeping classic trainer elements alive. This led us to incorporate multiple molded TPU parts, including the floating heel cage on the back with our signature MA logo extruding out,” shared Hazratizadeh, adding “The upper is a mix of triangular and fast lines with panels laying on top of each other. The quarter panel is my favorite as it is shaped from a continuous line that follows from the molded TPU part from the midsole.”
At the time of writing, the MA Runner, retailing at $790 USD, is available on AMIRI’s official site in a variety of different colorways and sizes — with more footwear expected from the house going forward.
