Takashi Murakami’s Footwear Fantasy Lands in London. Art. Fashion. Slippers? This is Murakami’s World and We’re All Living In It.

What happens when one of the most influential artists of the 21st century decides to make shoes? You get Ohana Hatake. A wild, whimsical collision of high art, Japanese tradition, and cartoonish joy. From August 4th to 24th, this dreamlike world lands in London, transforming Selfridges’ Corner Shop into a psychedelic flower field unlike anything Oxford Street’s seen before.

Fresh from a whirlwind US debut and a BLACKPINK collab that sent fans spiralling into resale frenzy, Takashi Murakami’s footwear line is now making its UK debut. 

Ohana Hatake [Japanese for “field of flowers”] is Murakami’s first foray into footwear. But rather than taking the well-worn path of a celebrity sneaker deal or logo rebrand, the Superflat pioneer has created something far stranger, and explicitly more sincere: shoes as sculptures. Art you can actually wear.

The Ohana Full-Bloom looks like it was picked straight from one of Murakami’s canvases. His signature technicolour flower has been reimagined as plush, EVA foam footwear that feels more collectible than functional. The Surippa Ohana, inspired by traditional Japanese house slippers, is subtler but no less sculptural, featuring engraved rubber soles and a playfully minimal silhouette. Both designs are rooted in comfort, but function as visual statements at first glance. It’s streetwear’s answer to post-pop surrealism.

Following immersive installations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Las Vegas’ ComplexCon, the London pop up guarantees exclusive colourways and an interactive, art-meets-retail experience. Think surreal floral backdrops, photo friendly installations, and collectible drops burrowed between your average highstreet products.

The Selfridges activation is part of Murakami’s ongoing mission to blur the lines between fine art and mass culture. With Ohana Hatake, he’s not just selling shoes, he’s planting seeds that bloom into the most beautiful flowers at the feet of the fashion-industrial complex.

Murakami has long dismantled the binary of “high” and “low” culture. His Louis Vuitton collaboration predated the streetwear/luxury crossover by a decade. His Superflat theory rewired the way the West views Japanese visual culture. With Ohana Hatake, the question is deceptively simple: what if we made joy the point?

So much of luxury fashion is anchored by irony, scarcity, or recycled nostalgia, here, Murakami offers something radical: pure delight. The designs are unapologetically cute, excessively colourful, and clearly meticulously crafted. It’s the kind of thing that makes us smile, even if we aren’t sure we can bear to wear it outside the house. [we all should though - he would want us to!]

Whether you’re streetwear obsessive, an art nerd, or just in need of a dopamine fix, Ohana Hatake is worth a pilgrimage. After all, when was the last time a pair of slippers made you smile like this?

Takashi Murakami’s Ohana Hatake is live at Selfridges Corner Shop, London, from August 4–24, 2025.