Japanese Grannies Handstitched the World’s Fanciest Veja Shoe

When you want to turn normal sneakers into extravagant, patiently made sneakers, each imbued with its own handwrought details, the Sashiko Gals are the perfect people to turn to. And as we learned in a recent interview, they’re always checking their DMs.

The group, which consists of 15 women aged between 40 and 80, all based in Ōtsuchi, Japan, is always booked and busy, most recently unveiling an artisanal denim collaboration with Ralph Lauren and a second season of New Era dad hats decorated through their handstitching. And that’s just in the last two weeks. Still, though, they had time for a new range of meticulously made Veja sneakers. However, they’ve not made many.

There are only 12 pairs of Sashiko Gal-ified Veja Salar sneakers to go around, each covered in sashiko stitching, zig-zagging along the silver leather medial panels and crisscrossing inside the “V” branding.

Traditionally, this ilk of ancient stitching reinforces and fixes worn-out fabrics, and the Ōtsuchi region has become a hotspot for keeping the art alive. These days, though, it's less about fixing old farmer uniforms and more about celebrating the artfulness of Sashiko.

That is the Sashiko Gals’ mission: to both expand the possibilities of Sashiko and to keep the art alive. And it’s working so far, as they’ve got Apple’s CEO wearing their sneakers and everyone from The North Face to New Balance asking for collaborations. 

The dozen Veja sneakers that make up their newest collab are among the rarest of the lot, available exclusively from Boontheshop Cheongdam Casestudy in Seoul for $1,710 starting July 3. 

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