shoes Cat [Upper-left] shoes Cock [Lower-left] shoes Mouse [Upper-center] shoes Rabbit [Upper-right] shoes Duck [Lower-right] shoes Lion [Lower-center]

Between Autumn-Winter 1983 and Spring-Summer 1986, Tokio Kumagaï's animal series appeared frequently. The original inspiration came from noticing that wine spilled on a table had left a stain as like a lovely mouse, this led to his mouse shoes. Various animals were added to this animal series that began from playfulness. Paying careful attention to detail and adding tails or ears to capture the characteristics of different animals, the designs were full of humor and ideas. This creativity, unconstrained by the conventional notions of the shoe category, made Tokio Kumagaï's shoes fun to wear.
Moving to France in 1970, Kumagaï caught the spotlight in the 1980s for his designs, particularly shoes. His ideas came from his own daily life, incorporating images gleaned from paintings, photographs, crafts, and even from friends' comments to design shoes that stood as artistic objects in their own right.