Sometimes it’s more interesting if a pair of shoes is not identical. Sure, you risk making the wanbao headline, wondering if you’ve succumbed to some mental stress, or colleagues and friends speculating that it was still dark when you left your flat in the morning, but with everyone going for the same NMDs or Yeezys, wouldn’t that be a bit of fun?

And fun is, perhaps, the operative word for this Onitsuka Tiger and Anrealage collaboration. This pair (of two styles dropped, both known as ‘Tiger Monte Z’) is touted as the world’s first “augmented reality sneakers”.

Frankly, we’re not sure if AR for sneakers is any use other than some limited visual fun. We tried this pair but weren’t impressed by the AR component enough to download the app required to give it a spin. Somehow, we sense that our relationship with the digital link to the shoe would end up like that of Pokemon Go: no play.

But if you’re intrigued enough, this is how it works. Download the app (a surprising 300MB!), and through the screen of your handphone directed at the shoe (online reports state that only the left side works), the logo of Anrealage “pops”. As this draw your attention, mixed tape of music put together by the Hokkaido band Sakanaction is temporary replacement of your Spotify playlist. Yes, a little low on the excitement factor.

We’re, therefore, more enticed by the unalike uppers of this pair of ‘Tiger Monte Z’. True to Anrealage’s off-centre aesthetic, their kicks with Onitsuka Tiger is a step in the direction of the less ordinary. The sock-like shape with a pronounced tongue could be a truncated, Frankenstein cousin of the Chelsea boot.

What’s a boon to those who like to customize things is the lacing (not required to secure the shoe), which allows one to create any pattern on the gradated perforation. Perfect for boring plane rides?

Onitsuka Tiger X Anrealage ‘Tiger Monte Z’, SGD229, is available at Onitsuka Tiger, Suntec City. Photo: Zhao Xiangji