Song for the Mute: the Sydney label, from $119 in CAD

Song for the Mute names two Canadian stockists on its own site, and one of them holds 58 pieces. Roden Gray in Vancouver is the other.

This note starts with the shoe, because the adidas pairs are the label's loudest pieces. Then it works back to the clothes, which are the reason the shoes exist.

Quick facts

• Founded: 2010, in Sydney, by Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya
• adidas collaborations: 9, counting Spring/Summer 2027, since the first in 2019
• First shoe: 3,000 pairs, sold out in 5 minutes, per FashionNetwork
• Canadian stockists named by the label: 2, WDLT117 and Roden Gray
• On within: 58 pieces, $119 to $1,650, read 2 October 2026
• First Paris Fashion Week show: June 2026, after 16 years in business

Two founders and a name

Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya started Song for the Mute in Sydney in 2010. They met in an art class at middle school, according to the label's profile in 10 Magazine. It began as a small menswear side project while both worked other jobs.

Ty was born in Paris, moved to Sydney in 1997 and studied design at the Accademia Italiana di Moda in Florence. Tanaya studied visual communications and graphic arts. Song for the Mute, as a name, is meant to give a voice to the voiceless.

Each season is a numbered chapter with its own name, such as 26.2 Playground. A number gives the year and the half, and a name gives the story.

In 2020 the chapter called 20.2 Djebel grew out of a trip Ty took to Tunisia and drew on the handwoven yarns she saw around Ksar Hellal. "The most integral to our brand is the notion of family, community and authenticity," Ty told the magazine.

The cloth comes first

In 2016 more than 90 per cent of the label's fabric was made from scratch by mills in Japan and Italy, according to the South China Morning Post. On the shelf it shows in colour names such as Rust, Sand and Army green.

In the same shop it hangs beside Japanese labels such as Undercover and UJOH, which our Japanese designer brands note covers.

A Relaxed fit Sweater in brown asks $795, and a Pleated Zip up Jacket in sand asks $899. Outerwear tops the shelf, with the Daisy Oversized Coat in brown at $1,650 and the Deconstructed Bomber in army green at $1,295.

At the bottom, a TKL Tee asks $199. A Painter's Pant in black asks $399, and a Lounge Pant in brown $755.

The shoe that took a year and a half

Work with adidas began in 2019. Melvin Tanaya told FashionNetwork that adidas wanted a designer with a strong foothold in the Asia Pacific region but international reach.

"It took a year and a half to complete that first pair."

That is Tanaya, describing a label that had never made a shoe. Only 3,000 pairs were made in the first run, and FashionNetwork reports they sold out in five minutes. Spring/Summer 2027 is the ninth collection between the two.

The current one, ADI007, is the seventh project, and GQ reported it was inspired by school uniforms. It reworked the adidas Tokyo in mesh and nylon, in tan, electric blue and black, beside a take on the Samba LX Freizeit.

GQ put the global release on 15 May 2026, with footwear at USD 150 to 180 and apparel at USD 50 to 200. In Canadian dollars, the SFTM x adidas 007 Tokyo W asks $200 in black, bluebird and off white.

Cheaper still, the 007 Shorts in black ask $119, the cheapest Song for the Mute piece we read, and the 007 Track Pants in grey $210. (If the shoe is what you came for, check the sizes on the listing the day you look.)

The Birkenstock pieces

The other collaboration on the shelf is Birkenstock, in two named chapters, "The Rebel" and "The Collector". The SFTM x Birkenstock Paris "The Rebel" in black pony hair asks $595.

Around it sit clothes from the same chapter, a Zipped S/S Jumpsuit at $599 and a Distressed Tee at $295. "The Collector" Tailored Jumpsuit in grey asks $889.

Where else it is sold, and Paris

Its stockist page is short on purpose. Tanaya told FashionNetwork, "We're not expanding too quickly; we want to choose our stores carefully."

In Canada it names WDLT117 at 7 St Thomas Street and Roden Gray in Vancouver. In the United States the list includes A Ma Maniére in Washington D.C., MRKT in Miami, H.Lorenzo in Los Angeles and Bloomingdale's.

In Europe it names La Samaritaine and L'Eclaireur in Paris, and Goodhood, Harrods and Selfridges in London. It runs its own flagships in Sydney and Melbourne.

In June 2026 the label showed at Paris Fashion Week for the first time, at the Lycée Victor Duruy, a school in the 7th arrondissement. It was a unisex collection made with adidas under the theme "Nostalgia", drawn from Lyna Ty's own memories.

"We've been here for 16 years, so we need to ensure the business has a solid foundation before we grow," Tanaya said. (That is a rare sentence from a label in the middle of its first Paris season.)

Every piece named here sits at the St Thomas Street shop. Its own policy says it ships within Canada by Canada Post and UPS, and abroad by Canada Post, UPS and DHL. Buying from a stockist the label names is also the simplest authenticity check there is, and the Song for the Mute price guide tracks the full ladder.

Common questions

Where can you buy Song for the Mute in Canada?

The label names two Canadian stockists on its own site, one at 7 St Thomas Street and Roden Gray in Vancouver. The first held 58 pieces on 2 October 2026, priced in Canadian dollars.

What is the Song for the Mute adidas collaboration?

It began in 2019, and Spring/Summer 2027 is the ninth collection. The current ADI007 project reworks the adidas Tokyo and the Samba LX Freizeit, released globally through adidas on 15 May 2026.

Does Song for the Mute make a Birkenstock?

Yes. The SFTM x Birkenstock Paris "The Rebel" sandal in black pony hair asks $595 in Canadian dollars, beside jumpsuits and tees from its chapter.

Where is Song for the Mute from?

Sydney, Australia, where Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya founded it in 2010. It runs its own flagships in Sydney and Melbourne.

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