The two teams met for the first time in a HOKA showroom in Paris, a few seasons ago. Beams had been buying and backing the brand for years by then, so the conversation hadsomewhere to start. What they lacked was a reason. The retailer's fiftieth anniversary gavethem one, and after a couple of meetings in France they agreed on the direction: nature,calm, and the Bondi 7. Built for runners and ended up under people who stand all day, onsets, in studios, behind counters. In Japan that shift happened early and Beams watched itfrom close range.

Let's start with the collaboration itself. How did it begin, and what was the main inspiration behind it? I see a lot of nature in this one.

Thomas Cykana We met the Beams team for the very first time here in Paris, in one of our showrooms, several seasons ago. They have been supporting the brand for a long time. As they approached their 50th anniversary, we wanted to find something really special to work on together. After a couple of meetings here in France, we finally found a story to tell. It was really rooted in nature, rooted in our iconic max-cushion Bondi 7 and the story that Beams has been building around a calm, Zen approach to living and the comfort that HOKA is known for. That experience comes to life beautifully in the product and the campaign.

The event here in Paris brought that world to life physically as well, the moss, the textures, the atmosphere. It felt like a genuine reconnection to something natural.

Thomas Cykana Exactly. The natural colors on the shoe, the camouflage pattern, fully custom from our design team, and the integrated Beams and HOKA logos hidden within the design. You have to discover them. That sense of curiosity, and the connection to the natural world, is something we really wanted to celebrate. These shoes are a perfect embodiment of that, not just in the product itself but in the entire experience and the campaign. We think about every collaboration in a very holistic manner.

Travis Wiseman What makes a great collaboration from the product side is being able to combine values and vision, but also finding opportunities to be uniquely yourselves. Beams is known for style, curation, cultural relevance. We are known for innovation, performance, and comfort. Finding those spots where there is real overlap, but also leaning into what each brand truly stands for, that is really the byproduct of how this product came to life.

I heard the original direction explored a much wider range of ideas before narrowing down to what it became. Is that accurate?

Thomas Cykana We definitely explored a lot of different pathways. Our designer Chris Hui talks about a philosophy of creating a product that is visually distinct at three meters, three centimeters, and three millimeters. Finding the right detail that draws you in at each distance. So even though what we landed on feels simple and pure, it still has real depth. And I have to mention the packaging: the box, the extra laces. These are things we obsessed over to make the most premium product possible between both brands.

Travis Wiseman Those obsessions are something we genuinely share with Beams. The details, the specificity, there is a real passion around product on both sides. And with collaborations, the journey is probably just as important as the output. This project had many ebbs, flows, and iterations before we arrived at the finished product.

Were any new materials introduced, or is this built on the original Bondi 7 construction?

Thomas Cykana The shoe stays true to the original Bondi 7 construction, and I think that is a testament to Beams' ability to take an icon, a shoe made for performance and push it into a new way of wearing the brand. We have seen this shoe styled so many ways: with cargo pants, with long shorts. That dynamic repositioning, opening a new room for HOKA to step into, is what Beams does better than almost anyone.

It does remind me of how that model evolved. There was a moment where it was everywhere, across all kinds of contexts. What was the Bondi 7 representing at that point?

Thomas Cykana The Bondi 7 was one of the first HOKA shoes that was pure performance but crossed over completely. If you were working on set all day, if you were in a studio, if you were on your feet in retail, you were probably wearing a Bondi 7. It was adopted by a creative, young audience that made it their own. That really made it the perfect foundation for this collaboration.

Travis Wiseman And it had already picked up real traction in Japan specifically in a style context. Beams, from their own experience with the shoe, already had a connection to it. They had watched the Bondi 7 make that transition from performance to lifestyle almost from the beginning. It felt very natural for them to bring their own distinct point of view to the model.

It is also extremely unisex, which I think matters. It works across different people, different ways of dressing.

Thomas Cykana Totally. HOKA has always been about making innovation and comfort accessible to a wide range of movers whether you are running, moving through the city, or somewhere in between. There are a million ways to appreciate what these products do.

Is there something in the product itself that you think people will only notice once they really spend time with it?

Travis Wiseman One detail I am personally really excited about is inside the camouflage print. If you look closely, you can find a hidden HOKA wordmark and a Beams wordmark woven into the graphic. It is a small thing, but it is the kind of discovery element that rewards the people who really look. And because of the printing process, no two shoes have the exact same placement of that graphic on the midsole. Every pair is slightly different.

So it is almost a one-of-one piece.

Travis Wiseman Right. And that connects back to what we were saying about curiosity. At HOKA we talk about curiosity as fuel for growth. Even with a retro model, an OG running shoe, we are still finding ways to push it forward.

Can we expect more from this partnership?

Thomas Cykana We have been partners for a long time. I am sure we will see the Beams team again here in Paris!