In a rare and illuminating exclusive with Vogue Greece, Japanese designer Mikio Sakabe has articulated a vision that transcends mere footwear trends, positioning his brand, Grounds, as a philosophical laboratory for the "next type of human." While the global fashion industry has long monitored Sakabe’s cult status in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, this latest editorial signal from the Mediterranean suggests a pivotal shift: the European luxury market is finally ready to embrace the "uncanny valley" of Japanese experimentalism. By framing his bulbous, gravity-defying soles not as sneakers but as architectural tools to alter human posture and perception, Sakabe is dismantling the boundary between the body and the object, signaling the end of the "hype sneaker" era and the dawn of ergonomic surrealism.
The Philosophy of the Floating Body
The central tension driving the Grounds narrative, as explored in the recent Vogue Greece feature, is the relationship between gravity and identity. For Mikio Sakabe, a designer trained at the prestigious Esmod Paris and Antwerp Royal Academy, footwear is not an accessory; it is a user interface for the ground.
Grounds is best known for its "New Jewelry" soles—massive, transparent, bubble-like structures that look less like rubber and more like solidified liquid. Sakabe argues that these "floating" silhouettes do more than add height; they fundamentally alter the wearer’s center of gravity. This creates a sensation of weightlessness, a physical state that Sakabe believes allows the wearer to disconnect from the heaviness of traditional adulthood.
This is where the brand diverges from Western competitors like Balenciaga or MSCHF, who often use volume for irony or meme-value. Sakabe’s approach is earnest and ergonomic. The "Uncanny Valley" concept—a term he explicitly deployed during his Fall/Winter 2025 presentation in Paris—suggests that by distorting the human silhouette with bulbous extremities, we actually move closer to a new, digital-native form of humanity. It is a proposition that blends the cuteness of anime with the unsettling nature of prosthetics.
Mass Avant-Garde: The Stadium Strategy
While the philosophical underpinnings are high-concept, Sakabe’s business strategy is aggressively populist, a model we categorize as "Mass Avant-Garde." The research brief confirms that his Fall/Winter 2024-25 show at Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo was a watershed moment, drawing approximately 4,000 attendees to the Yoyogi Daiichi Gymnasium.
This scale is unprecedented for an independent experimental label. By opening the doors to the general public, Sakabe is treating the fashion show less like a trade event and more like a stadium concert. This "Nike SNKRS meets K-Pop" logic allows him to bypass traditional gatekeepers and cultivate a fervent, cult-like loyalty directly with the consumer.
During this massive spectacle, Sakabe collaborated with Shiseido’s Chief Artistic Director to erase the individuality of the models. Utilizing uniform glitter masks, heavy bangs, and identical red lips, the presentation forced the audience of thousands to focus strictly on the silhouette of the garments and the shoes. It was a masterclass in de-individualization, countering the current influencer-obsessed era with a unified, almost robotic aesthetic.
From Footwear to "New Humans"
The industry is currently witnessing the critical evolution of Grounds from a shoe label into a full-fledged fashion house. Industry intelligence from the recent Paris Fashion Week confirms that Grounds is expanding its vocabulary into apparel. The "Uncanny Valley / Next Type of Human" collection demonstrated that the bulbous, air-filled language of the footwear is now migrating upward.
Expect to see garments that mimic the "jelly" aesthetic of the soles—jackets with exaggerated volumes, padded tulles, and synthetic sheens that blur the line between clothing and toy packaging. This expansion is strategic. By establishing the shoe as the "anchor" product, Sakabe has secured the capital and brand equity to introduce difficult, avant-garde clothing to a market that has already bought into his vision via their feet.
The synergy between his main line, MIKIOSAKABE, and the Grounds label is becoming seamless. Where MIKIOSAKABE explores the narrative and emotional turbulence of youth, Grounds provides the physical foundation—the "hardware"—for this new human to walk upon.
The Kawaii-Horror Nexus: Strategic IP Integration
One of the most sophisticated aspects of Sakabe’s ecosystem is his ability to stack Intellectual Property (IP) without diluting his avant-garde credibility. The brand currently balances collaborations with Sanrio’s "Little Twin Stars" alongside capsules featuring horror manga legend Junji Ito.
This juxtaposition is intentional. It taps into a specific Japanese subcultural frequency where "cute" (kawaii) and "terrifying" (kowai) overlap. The Little Twin Stars capsule, featuring shoes priced around ¥46,200 (approx. $300 USD), proves that high-margin luxury consumers are hungry for nostalgia, provided it is repackaged through a subversive lens. Simultaneously, the Junji Ito collaboration signals to the streetwear and manga community that the brand understands the darker, more visceral side of youth culture.
This multi-IP platform approach diversifies revenue streams. It captures the "pink" yen of Sanrio collectors and the "dark" yen of horror aficionados, funneling both demographics into the Sakabe universe.
Why Vogue Greece? The European Testbed
The decision to grant an exclusive interview to Vogue Greece is a calculated geopolitical move. While Paris is the runway capital, smaller, culturally rich European markets often serve as effective testbeds for niche avant-garde adoption. Greece, with its blend of high-end tourism and a growing appetite for alternative luxury, offers a fresh context for Sakabe’s work away from the saturated streets of Harajuku or SoHo.
It signals that Condé Nast editors are actively seeking non-Western narratives to revitalize the European fashion discourse. Sakabe is being positioned not just as a "Japanese designer," but as a global intellectual property—a creator whose theories on the body are universally applicable, whether one is walking in Shibuya or Athens.
Timeline of Evolution
- 2000s–2010s: Mikio Sakabe trains in Europe (Esmod Paris, Antwerp Royal Academy), absorbing the deconstructionist philosophies of the Antwerp Six.
- 2010s: Launch of MIKIOSAKABE in Tokyo. The brand becomes synonymous with "Akiba-kei" and "Otaku" fashion, blending subculture with high design.
- 2019–2020: Grounds launches as a footwear-specific project. The signature "Jewelry" sole goes viral on social media, creating a distinct visual identity.
- March 2024: The massive Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo show at Yoyogi Daiichi Gymnasium draws 4,000 people, validating the "Mass Avant-Garde" strategy.
- Late 2024/2025: Grounds debuts apparel in Paris ("Uncanny Valley"), and Vogue Greece mainstreams the brand’s philosophy to a Mediterranean audience.
Expert Insights
To understand the gravity of Sakabe’s current trajectory, we analyze the sentiment from key industry players who have witnessed the brand’s evolution firsthand.
On the Erasure of Self:
Shiseido’s creative leadership noted regarding the AW24 show: "Mr. Sakabe wanted the audience to be able to concentrate on the fashion styles... I created a sense of uniformity with bright-red lips and heavy bangs to hide their eyes." This confirms that for Sakabe, the "New Human" is a collective entity, not an individual influencer.
On the Expansion of Form:
Coverage from Yokogao Magazine on the Paris debut highlights: "Mikio Sakabe presents ‘Uncanny Valley,’ an expansion of his footwear universe into garments, exploring the next type of human." This reinforces the view that the shoes were merely a Trojan horse for a total aesthetic overhaul.
Forecast: The Next 24 Months
Based on the current trajectory and the "Deep Intelligence" indicators, we predict three major developments for Mikio Sakabe and Grounds:
1. Soft Robotics & Ergonomic Tech:
The obsession with "floating" and weight distribution suggests a latent opportunity for technology partnerships. We anticipate Grounds moving beyond passive materials into active ergonomics—potentially collaborating with sports science labs or gaming hardware companies to create footwear that interacts with digital environments.
2. European Retail Penetration:
Following the Vogue Greece signal, expect a coordinated retail push into key European concept stores. Pop-ups in Athens, Berlin, and Milan are likely, positioning Grounds as the "intellectual alternative" to the waning hype-sneaker market.
3. The "Eventization" of Retail:
Building on the success of the Yoyogi Gymnasium show, Sakabe will likely export this format. Future shows may function as ticketed entertainment experiences rather than industry-only previews, effectively monetizing the runway itself.
Mikio Sakabe is no longer just making shoes for Harajuku kids; he is drafting the blueprints for how we will walk, stand, and exist in the future. As the soles get thicker and the silhouettes stranger, the fashion world is finally realizing that in Sakabe’s universe, gravity is just a suggestion.
Written by Ara Ohanian for FAZ Fashion — fashion intelligence for the modern reader.
