What Onitsuka Tiger is known for

Japanese sportswear brand founded 1949 in Kobe by Kihachiro Onitsuka; its Mexico 66 sneaker, worn by the Japanese Olympic team in 1968 and later by Bruce Lee, remains its signature design.

Onitsuka Tiger was founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka in postwar Japan, initially making basketball shoes -- the brand's early suction-cup outsole grip design was reportedly inspired by an octopus tentacle Onitsuka noticed stuck to a bowl. The company expanded into running footwear from 1953, working with Japanese marathoner Toru Terasawa, and gained international attention when Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila wore Onitsuka shoes to consecutive Olympic marathon gold medals in 1960 and 1964, having previously run barefoot. The Mexico 66 model, worn by the Japanese national team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, became the brand's best-known design and later a pop-culture icon after Bruce Lee wore its yellow-and-black colourway in his films, including Game of Death. Onitsuka later merged with two other companies in 1977 to form ASICS, but the Onitsuka Tiger name was revived as a standalone lifestyle and fashion-sneaker line, continuing to produce the Mexico 66 and related retro models alongside contemporary designs, sold through its own stores and e-commerce internationally as well as in Japan.