If you’re just looking for a pair of shoes, Y-3 doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. But then again, Y-3 isn’t really like any other shoe line. A collaboration sub-brand between the legendary Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto and “the brand with the three stripes”—hence the name—Y-3 shoes aren’t just existing Adidas shoes with a different color combination like most collaborative sneakers. Given that Yohji Yamamoto is famously the master of black, that’s probably for the best. Instead, Y-3 shoes use their own unique molds, outsoles, uppers, and materials, and often have little to do with an existing Adidas shoe even if they share the same title. The high price tag for Y-3 models isn’t just a luxury designer tax; for a completely original shoe with complex construction made in limited numbers, that’s the only way you can price it. And probably Y-3 at its best is seen in their 2024 profile, the $450 S-Gendo Run.