Photo courtesy of ASICS
The Japanese sportswear brand invites designers Cecilie Bahnsen, Doublet, and architect Kengo Kuma to reimagine their own ASICS sneakers
It has become a yearly tradition for fashion houses, designers, and creatives from many different corners of the world to congregate amidst the dazzling lights of Paris Fashion Week. The occasion is a celebration of artistry and innovation, where entities from all over the fashion landscape celebrate and showcase their own creations through runway shows, exclusive events, and pop-ups sprung all across the City of Love.
In this year’s fashion week, sportswear brand ASICS takes part in this annual tradition with a collection of collaborations that sought to breathe new life into their classic silhouettes. Cecilie Bahnsen, Doublet, and Kengo Kuma each bring their own reinterpretations of the brand’s footwear under the SportStyle collection. The theme of the entire release lies in the brand’s name, with the Latin term Anima Sana in Corpore Sano (ASICS) being an acronym that translates to “Sound mind, sound body.” This intermingling relationship between wellness and movement are what inspire the visions of each designer, with the three collaborators weaving their own twists to the phrase into each of their looks.
As a fashion designer, Cecilie Bahnsen is well regarded for her couture creations. Dresses are laced with sheer and coquette motifs that are almost flirty to the touch, which is contrasted by collections that are bathed in white that invoke a sense of purity with each garment.
Here, she infuses her more feminine style codes into the ASICS GEL-QUANTUM 360 VIII. The sneaker is reworked into a sandal, which is imbued with her feminine vision of everyday couture. “I’ve always been drawn to the juxtaposition between femininity and elements that are more technical and sportive,” she says. “I find inspiration in how I see my clothes being worn in real life, by the girls in our atelier and our community around the globe, often pairing a billowing dress with functional trainers or a delicate organza skirt and chunky sandals.”
The second collaboration takes inspiration from the doublet, which is a linguistics term invented by Lewis Carroll (author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) that references the use of word puzzles.
For Paris Fashion Week, Doublet joins hands with ASICS to reinterpret these puzzles into the GEL-KAYANO 20. “The idea [behind] this collaboration was to show [only] one color and one material, which is the total opposite of the multicolored and [multi-material] approach that was used for the existing GEL-KAYANO 20,” the designer says. “Based on this concept, I came up with the idea of sneakers with a shoebox pattern, [almost] as if they were coming [straight] out of a shoebox.”
Architect Kengo Kuma brings a unique flavor in comparison to the various collaborations in this current collection. Taking a page from Japanese architecture and interior design, the third series of sneakers is more translucent, replicating the traditional feel of Japanese paper that is incorporated into the ASICS Archisite ORU. “At first, Kuma-san proposed the idea of creating a shoe with a [sense] of duality that could [allow] it to be worn in different situations, such as at a construction site or in a hotel, so we decided on the theme of “ORU” (variable like origami) for this project.” These design characteristics are what allow it to be more airy and breathable, as it incorporates Kengo Kuma’s architectural ideas into the series of sneakers.
“One of the characteristics of Mr. Kuma’s architecture is his insistence on using a single material for a single surface, which allows him to unify the world view of his buildings,” the design firm explains. “For “Archisite ORU”, we tried to design a shoe made of [only] one material in [only] one surface as much as possible, and by making the most [out] of the material’s characteristics, we were able to create a shoe with an unprecedented world view.”
Apart from their collaborations for Paris Fashion Week, ASICS has also unveiled a number of new pairs of footwear for this monumental occasion. Drawing inspiration from their Digitune Pack, the brand had released the GEL-QUANTUM 360 VIII DIGITUNE which takes its codes from the elements of retro futurism. Similarly, the GEL-NIMBUS 10.1 features a reconfigured design that reimagines one of their staple silhouettes for everyday comfort.
With the Paris Olympics encroaching, the Japanese footwear label also introduces the Celebration of Sports Collection, which seeks to debut GEL-QUANTUM 360 VIII and the GT-2160 in an updated, more performance-driven look. These innovations extend not only through the realm of footwear, but also marry the fields of both fashion and sports with the ASICS SportStyle Apparel Collection, rounding out the series of new releases for the brand.
For more information, find Kengo Kuma’s Asics collaboration alongside models such as the ASICS GEL-QUANTUM 360 VIII, the GEL-KAYANO 20, and more on their official website.
