KARHU and Michelin-starred Boreal look to the Finnish landscape with the Mestari 76

Two of Helsinki's better exports, running shoes and restaurants, have found each other. KARHU has partnered with Boreal, the Design District restaurant that picked up its first Michelin star this June, on three new colourways of the Mestari 76.

It is a pairing that makes more sense than the usual food-meets-footwear crossover. Boreal, opened in autumn 2025 by chef Pasha Demin, has built its reputation on foraging, fermentation and preservation: a kitchen that stretches the Finnish seasons rather than shopping around them. KARHU has spent a hundred years drawing on the same landscape, and the collaboration leans into what the two share: respect for craft, patience with materials, and the idea that the best work comes from knowing a place properly.

That translates into a palette pulled straight from the forest floor rather than the mood board. Jet Black / Blanc De Blanc is the sharpest of the three, all contrast and clean lines. Marron / Cloud Cream is the warm one, a soft brown-on-cream that will do the heavy lifting through autumn. Gravel / Chocolate Torte is the sleeper pick. Muted and slightly damp-looking in the best way, it is the sort of colourway that photographs badly and wears brilliantly.

The Mestari 76 remains one of the more quietly satisfying silhouettes in KARHU's line-up. First released in 1976 as a performance runner, it has come back with a refined shape, suede overlays over a lightweight base, the synthetic leather M-logo, a foam footbed with arch support and the brand's patented Air Cushion midsole underneath. It is not trying to be loud, which is exactly why it keeps coming back.

All three are available now on karhu.com, at KARHU's concept stores in Helsinki, Tokyo, Turin and Cuneo, and at select retailers worldwide.