ISSEY MIYAKE and Camper unveil Karst Finch, a modern Mary Jane sneaker

ISSEY MIYAKE and Camper have made the kind of shoe fashion people actually talk about: a half-open, Mary Jane-adjacent sneaker that looks equal parts playful and engineered. Karst Finch arrives with two sock pairings built into the styling conversation, which is the detail that makes the whole thing click. This is not a clean-cut court shoe or a straightforward runner. It is a deliberately awkward hybrid, and that is exactly why it feels current.

The collaboration went on sale April 15, 2026, and ISSEY MIYAKE said some stores may use reservations to ease congestion. The brands describe Karst Finch as the second footwear project in their partnership, while Camper calls it the first sneaker created with Satoshi Kondo. That matters because the shoe sits right at the point where both labels are strongest: ISSEY MIYAKE’s instinct for form that refuses to sit still, and Camper’s habit of turning utility into something stranger and more charming.

The construction is where the idea becomes convincing. The shoe uses Camper’s nature-inspired Karst sole, a breathable stretch-knit upper, a Vibram outsole and ReXarge supercritical foam at the midsole, with Hypebeast also noting PET-engineered textile uppers and OrthoLite cushioning. In other words, this is not a gimmick shoe pretending to be technical. It is technical footwear dressed up with the softness and oddness of a fashion object. The plumage inspiration from finch feathers gives the silhouette a lighter mood, even as the build stays firmly in performance-sneaker territory.

Color is part of the appeal too. ISSEY MIYAKE lists charcoal, light yellow, light beige and black, each with a matching accent tone, while Hypebeast reported beige, gray, yellow and black. At $320, Karst Finch lands in that sweet spot where designer footwear still feels attainable enough to wear, not archive-level precious. Camper and ISSEY MIYAKE say the partnership draws on more than 100 years of combined heritage, but the real draw is more immediate: a shoe that invites the kind of styling experiment streetwear has been chasing lately, where the sock is not an accessory but part of the silhouette. Karst Finch makes the case that the next interesting sneaker may look a little wrong at first, then suddenly look inevitable.