New Trends Created by Asian Designers from New York

They New York
Similarly, they speak of Japanese influences in their New York-based brand, They New York. Angela and Jack Lin, siblings who studied design and marketing in New York, create minimalist sneakers. Jack cites "MUJI's Kenya Hara and architect Tadao Ando" as influences, and their website is available in Japanese.

"My family owns a shoe factory in Taichung that has been in business for over 30 years, and we are 100% OEM for Japanese brands. Both my father and grandfather speak Japanese, and we once lived in Yokohama. We had never created our own brand before, but we thought we could express our vision through a concept design inspired by Bauhaus and modern Japanese graphics and architecture. All production is done in my family's factory in Taiwan. Our shoes are characterized by a seamless construction method by skilled craftsmen, with no seams within the shoe silhouette."

Jack Lin
ABCENSE, known for its minimalist and futuristic designs, is also a brand by the Taiwanese duo Yoyo Pan and Jhuosan Wang. Furthermore, sneaker brand iRi, a male-female duo brand by Korean designers Janet Yeung and Lagtif Nawab, and other Asian designers are creating shoes that hybridize traditional techniques with high technology, and are creating a new market.

Both brands have become popular mainly through online sales on their own websites, and orders from Japan are also increasing. iRi has become a hot topic after being worn by the likes of Gigi Hadid and Kehlani, and its New York-based brand is popular for its highly visible designs, with neoprene in graphic colors, bold shark soles, and geometric heels.

Ili
Further selected were Israeli designer KOBI LEVI, known for his objet d'art heels, France's DONDOKS PARIS, Italy's GOOD VIBES and MADAME COSETTE, Britain's MERAH VODIANOVA, and Belgium's WHF (WEBERHODELFEDER), highlighting MICAM's new stance of actively providing space for future shoe design, not just from an Italian but global perspective.